The Taicho Tournament
by Soul of Shaman
Summary: The Soutaicho is dead. His will is found, asking for the Shinigami to particpate in a tournament that will decide who becomes Soutaicho, as well as "Shaman King." .:.This story has been discontinued.
1. Yamamoto Dies and the Oracle Pager Rings

**Author's Note: I just had to write this story. There aren't enough Shaman King stories, nonetheless crossovers. Anyways, the first chapter is just what's going on with everyone before the second Shaman Tournament. Ren, Horukeu, Lyserg, and Chocolove are already friend with Yoh and co.**

Everyone was silent as the flames engulfed the body, every captain's zanpakuto unsheathed and stabbed into the ground. Every Soul Reaper's eyes were wet with tears, and the captains had to hold back theirs. No one spoke as the flames cracked and snapped at the logs covering the body. Ichigo was holding Rukia's hand in his and squeezed it tightly. Rukia wiped her eyes and Renji stood beside his captain, wishing he could be there to comfort her himself. Matsumoto placed a hand on her captain's shoulders, feeling his body tremble with the sobs he was trying so hard to keep in. Momo could see him doing his best, and wiped her eyes, smiling at him. He spared her a small smile and bit his tongue.

The Soutachi was dead. He had gone to sleep, and when his Lieutenant went to wake him up, his eyes didn't open. Everyone stood still until the flames died, and the captains sheathed their zanpakuto's, giving their respects. Ichigo and Rukia did theirs together, and he pulled her away as Renji came up with his captain.

"I don't believe this," Rukia said in a shaky voice. "I just don't believe it…" She started sobbing and Ichigo put his arms around her. Byakuya rubbed her back and nodded at Ichigo in thanks. Ichigo smiled and held out his hand, shaking Byakuya's firmly.

"Captain…," Matsumoto said, sitting beside the youngest taicho, his head hidden in his arms. His legs were tucked so his knees were touching his chest. His body racked with sobs as he sniffed. Toshiro raised his head and wiped at his overflowing eyes with his fist, allowing Matsumoto to pull him to her and comfort him. Momo clung to Renji, who just patted her head. Kira sat beside Matsumoto and she placed a hand on his head.

"This is taking a toll on everyone." Komamura rubbed at his eyes as well, Iba beside him with sakè. Ikkaku and Yumichika were trying to outbeat each other in holding in their tears, and Kenpachi was rocking a sad Yachiru to sleep. Little blobs of tears were stuck in the corners of her eyes. She had the tip of her zanpakuto sheath in her mouth.

"She's out cold," Ikkaku announced.

"Yeah, she is," Kenpachi agreed, halfway there. Looking at Ichigo didn't even give him the urge to fight right now. He simply ruffed Yachiru's hair. "Come on. We're returning to our District." He stood and waved at Ichigo. Ichigo nodded back to him, knowing that he'd want to fight soon. Byakuya pulled Rukia back.

"We should get going," he said to her. She straightened up and nodded, wiping away her tears. Ichigo messed up her hair, bowed towards Byakuya, and watched as his friend was taken back home. He turned to see Toshiro had cried himself to sleep, and was being held bridal-style in Rangiku's arms.

"Hey, did Toshiro wear himself out?" Ichigo asked. Rangiku smiled amiably at her captain.

"He's still a kid," she reminded him in a soft voice. "The announcement of the death probably shocked him. He's exhausted."

"Yeah, I guess." Ichigo fought the urge to pat him on the head like a mother would.

"I'm going to take him home and put him to bed. I'll see you later, Ichigo." Matsumoto nodded her thanks to him and walked away. Momo gripped her hakama, tagging along. She turned towards Ichigo and waved. He waved back and turned towards Renji, who clasped his hand in his and pulled him into a one-armed hug. He pulled away, placing a hand on Ichigo's shoulder.

"What's wrong with you, Abarai?" Ichigo teased as the fukutaicho wiped at his eyes. "I thought you were supposed to be as strong as a rock, or something like that."

"Yeah, but when the old man croaked…" Renji's voice cracked and he swallowed to cover it up.

"Yeah, I hear you," Ichigo said, ignoring it. "I'll see you later, alright?"

"Yeah." Renji hit his shoulder before walking past him. He spotted an upset Yoruichi on the wall, and smiled at her. She returned the smile, nodding and wiping at her eyes. Urahara was behind her, his arm about her shoulders. He saw Ichigo, his lips pulling into a weak smile as well. Ichigo nodded towards them.

"Ichigo!" Orihime ran up and wrapped her arms around him. She looked up, her eyes glowing with tears. He put his arms around her back. Chad had to pry her from him so Ichigo could breathe.

"We heard about Yamamoto," Chad said. Uryu was next to him, and he simply pushed his glasses back to the bridge of his nose. "We came to see everyone."

"Are you okay, Ichigo?" Orihime butted in. Ichigo grinned at all of his friends, tears still welling up.

"I'm fine," he replied. "Just a little depressed."

"It's good to see you're okay," Uryu commented. Ichigo smirked at his friend.

"How's Tatsuki?" Ichigo turned his attention towards Orihime.

"She's fine. She misses you, though." She grinned. Ichigo let out a deep sigh. "Where's Rukia?" Orihime looked around.

"She's back at home with Byakuya," Ichigo answered, scratching the back of his head. "I'm kind of tired."

"You can stay at one of our Districts," Soi Fon offered, approaching. She wiped her eyes on her sleeves, _smiling_. "I mean, if you want to."

"Thanks, Soi Fon." Ichigo and his group bowed, and Soi Fon bowed back

**Over at Tokyo, Japan…**

Yoh and his friends were watching TV from underneath a _kotatsu_, a cold breeze coming in from outside. The clouds were dark gray and everything outside was wet from rain and dark. It was three in the afternoon, and outside it looked like it was eight at night. And not in Scotland. (**In Scotland, the sun goes down about 11 PM and comes up about 4:30 AM.)**

"There's nothing on, dude," Horokeu complained as Yoh watched a few seconds of whatever was on one channel, and would change it. Lyserg was reading _Shounen Jump_ and Ryu was looking over his shoulder. In the kitchen, Tamao and Manta were cooking, and Anna was overlooking them. Chocolove was going through a joke book, and Pirika was hugging her brother for no reason. Faust and Eliza were back in Germany doing whatever it was they were doing. And Ren was lying on his side, one arm under his head and one arm flung out on the floor, a book in his hand. He was fast asleep.

"I know. Why do you think I'm changing channels?" Yoh flipped through them quicker, and when he got to channel 187, he just gave up. "Put in a DVD, or something. I'm tired."

"All you've been doing is _changing channels_!" Horokeu moved so that his sister was shaken off. She blew a hot breath angrily and sat up. She poked Ren in the forehead with her foot, but he didn't stir. She poked him again. His brow pulled together, but he didn't move. She poked him and Ren grabbed her leg, pushing her over.

"Poke me again, and you'll be losing a limb," he threatened, turning over and shifting his weight to make himself comfortable. Pirika scowled and sat behind him.

"Why are you sleeping?"

"Because I'm tired."

"The 'Great Tao Ren' gets tired?!"

"Yes, and I'm _tired _of you. Now shut the hell up."

"Pirika, just leave him alone," Horokeu said, dragging his sister's butt across the _tatami_ mat. "He gets cranky when it rains." Ren didn't bother to insult him. Rather, he simply flipped Horokeu the thing that flies and let his hand fall to the floor with a _thump_.

"Wow! I'd never guess that would happen!" Ryu gasped. Lyserg nodded in agreement. A book hit Ryu in the face, making the older man fall backwards. Lyserg flipped the page, unaware that his friend had fallen over.

"Crankypants!" Horokeu joked.

"I am _not_ cranky!" Ren shouted. "I'm just tired!"

"That's what they all say!"

"Prepare to die, Horo." Ren sat up, rubbing his eyes with his wrist.

"I'm too tired to even bother…" Ren flopped onto his back, his arms holding his head off the floor as his eyes shut again. Chocolove put his book down.

"Am I the only one who feels kinda…depressed about something?" he asked. Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked at the African shaman. Ren cracked open an eye. "I mean, don't you guys feel that?"

Everyone was silent. Ren closed his eyes.

"Yeah, now that you mention it, I kinda _do_ feel a little upset." Horokeu looked at his feet.

"Yeah, it does kinda feel like something happened," Yoh admitted, placing his headphones on his ears. "But, maybe it's someone dying."

"Could be…," Ren agreed, his eyes squeezed tightly together. "Thanks to your sister, Horo, I can't get back to sleep."

"Why blame it on me!?" Pirika demanded. Ren shot up, his molten eyes glowing with anger and the excitement for a fight.

"Because _you_ woke me up!"

"Oh yeah." She laughed and scratched her head. Ren lied back down _again_ and turned over. He wasn't about to get any sleep at all and he knew that. But pretty soon, he was fast asleep again, snoring lightly. Yoh was bobbing his head side to side to a beat he only heard, and Horokeu finally found a good anime to put on and was watching that with Pirika and Lyserg was still reading _Shounen Jump_. Ryu was watching the anime with Horokeu when Anna and her slaves came in with lunch. Yoh had to wake Ren up because he refused to do so when Pirika or Horokeu tried to wake him up.

"You know, while I was in the kitchen, we all got chills," Manta informed as everyone began eating. "Kinda like something depressing happened."

"Really? So did we," Horokeu said. "Maybe it's just the weather that's got us down…"

"Maybe," Tamao agreed. "It's a really bad day to be out at all."

A beeping sound could be heard from upstairs. Yoh stood, excusing himself, and went upstairs. When he came back, he had a confused look on his face.

"It's the Oracle Pager," he said, making everyone look up in shock. "It's beeping." The orange pager's screen was lit up and it was, indeed, beeping. The others joined in as well, and the other shamans rushed to get theirs.

"Looks like the fight's starting again," Anna mused, putting a piece of chicken into her mouth. "This is going to be very interesting."

**Author's Note: ^^ I feel good about this. It may continue for awhile, but I might stop if it doesn't go anywhere or doesn't get a lot of attention. So this might not last long. At the beginning, I was listening to Avril Lavinge's song **_**Nobody's Home**_**, and I thought it fit well for the beginning of the chapter (the music, not really the lyrics themselves). If you would like to leave a review saying you either like it or hate it, or hate me (heh, prepare for some flaming on the last one), please feel free to do so. Anonymous reviews are also very welcome. ^^ May the force be with you. (Ha! I'm such a nerd.)**


	2. Ren vs Nichrome

**Author's Note: I am excited about this story. X3 But, like I said, it might not last long. So, enjoy what's coming, because it might stop. The next few chapters are just of fights to actually get IN the tournament. I'm taking requests for the fights. Name as many people as you want, and I'll write them down. Or, maybe there should be a limit. If this story ever got popular, I'd have them flooding in like it would never end. O.o Anyways, if you want someone's fight to be written about, send them to me! The limit is…probably better go with six. The most you can send me is six. I'm probably just wishing. TT^TT Anyways, I'll probably just start with Ren's fight first (mostly cos I lurv him. =3), and go from there. So, I guess that this chapter's gonna be Ren's fight. I'll try not to make it short. Enjoy.**

Ren and his new spirit ally, Spirit of Thunder, sat on the roof of Funbari Inn, taking in the darkness of the night sky. The air was filled with the smell of wet earth and grass after the rain earlier, but Ren didn't mind the cold water soaking the back of his body. He enjoyed the feel of it on his skin. The only noise around was the cars going by every so often.

"You know," he said to the unreplying spirit, "I could actually win this time." He looked over at the spirit, which had taken the form of a small dog when in its dormant state. "With Hao out of the way, I might have a chance. But then again, Yoh still has more furyoku than I do." He yawned and his ally rested its head on his chest. Ren scratched its head. His Oracle Pager began glowing, and he stared as the Destiny Star went across the sky for the second time. He smirked to himself and reached for Bào Lèi, which was oh so conveniently beside him.

"Come on, Spirit of Thunder," he said, landing hard on the wet dirt in the yard. "Looks like I have yet another fight to get myself into." The spirit bobbed happily, ready for action, as it followed the young Tao towards the cemetery, tail wagging happily.

**And now, we're at the famous little place known as Funbari Hill**

Ren entered the gates, ignoring the ghosts that popped up to see who was visiting. Once they saw it was just another shaman, they went back into their graves. Spirit of Thunder was overwhelmed with how many entities were there and was going crazy inspecting them all. Ren whistled, his fingers between his lips, and his ally appeared back at his side, bobbing up and down in apology. Ren dismissed it and started climbing the stairs. That was when the familiar, dark feeling crept from his toes to the very tip of his tongari. He shuddered, thinking of the bastard up the hill. Spirit of Thunder felt the uneasiness in Ren and started sparking. Ren finished climbing to the top off the hill and stopped, staring at the one person whom he hated more than his father.

"Damn, of all people, it was you," he murmured, a sadistic smirk appearing on his face. Of all people, that sent _him_.

"It's nice to see you, Ren," Nichrome greeted, his smile also one of pure hatred for the young Tao boy in front of him. "Of all people, I get to pass you."

"What a pleasure." Ren managed to get his sentence out through his teeth. "So, what's the test this time?"

"Same as last year," Nichrome said, moving gracefully over towards the Tao. Ren didn't see him until he was two inches from him. "Unless, you'd like some _other_ test to see if you're worthy." A rough had caressed his cheek, and the young man blushed, whacking the Patch away from him. Ren's face was stark red and his grip on Bào Lèi made his knuckles turn white.

"What the hell was that!?" Ren demanded.

"What? You're letting a small movement like that bother you?" Nichrome chuckled to himself. "What happened to the 'Great Tao Ren'?"

"Why does _everyone_ call me that?" Ren held his hand out, Spirit of Thunder turning into a spirit ball and taking up his palm. "So, can we start the stupid test already?"

"Alright." Nichrome pulled his cloak back, revealing the golden scorpion just lying in wait for its next victim. When it saw Ren, it started snapping its pinchers together. "Golden Whip, let's go!"

"Alright! Spirit of Thunder! Into Bào Lèi!"

The cemetery was filled with furyoku and spiritual energy as both shamans formed their Over Souls. Bào Lèi had taken the form of a fish fin, and Nichrome's spirit, the shape of a…scorpion? What was his medium? Ren ignored the fact that Nichrome's medium was missing. He had no time to think about it as the tails jetted out and slammed into the ground right where Ren standing. The Patch looked around the grave yard. His opponent was missing.

"Damn, Ren, you're so fun to fight," Nichrome said in a raised voice. "Unfortunately"—Nichrome smashed a grave he thought Ren would be hiding behind—"you have to make it hard for me."

"Yeah, I do," a voice sneered behind him. Nichrome whirled around, only to meet an empty space. "But you're pathetic." The voice was all around him now. He couldn't see a thing, other than the unsettling fog rolling in. Nichrome laughed to himself.

"What an interesting fight. Too bad for you, though, Tao Ren…" Nichrome could feel a slight difference in the spiritual power near his right. Golden Whip struck, hitting its mark with a satisfying _shluck_ as it dug itself into the Tao's middle. Ren threw up a lot of blood and wiped his mouth, glaring up at the Patch. "…you couldn't hide your furyoku as well as you claim."

Ren hit the ground hard, Golden Whip dragging him along the dirt and rocks as it tried to go deeper into him. He was finally stopped by a tree that just _had_ to be behind him, and even the impact snapped the tree in half. Ren could feel his blood soaking the entire back of his body and clothes, and the poison from Golden Whip was sending a shot of pain through his muscles. Nichrome peered into his face.

"This is fun," he sneered. "How about we _turn_ this game up a notch?" Golden Whip twisted its tail, making Ren bit his lip harshly to keep his scream from coming out. Ren was somehow able to twist his hips and slam his foot into Nichrome's side. Nichrome went flying a few feet, ripping Golden Whip's tail out of his middle. Ren gasped and gripped at his gaping wound.

"Yes, this is fun," Ren said, his Over Soul stabbed into the ground to keep himself up. "This is the most fun I've had since I fought Yoh for the first time."

"Your idea of a good fight is when someone's blood is on the ground?" Nichrome asked, lowering his guard.

"Even if it's my blood." Ren was obviously having trouble standing and talking at the same time. His legs were shaking and the poison had started taking its toll on his body now. "So, let's finish what we started."

"I thought you'd never say so," Nichrome said, taking his stance. Ren grinned evilly at his opponent's move.

"Are you going to attack with Golden Whip?" Nichrome relaxed again from shock. He watched Ren curiously as the Tao started laughing to himself. "You're too predictable, Nichrome." Ren removed his blood covered hand away from his wound, pulling out a cell phone.

"What do you plan to do?" Nichrome asked, watching the Tao punch in a number.

"Just making a call," Ren answered nonchalantly, pressing the phone to his ear. Nichrome could hear the phone ring until someone answered. "Ah, Manta—"

"Ren, where are you!? Yoh's already gone to fight a patch!" the voice demanded loudly. Ren cursed in his native tongue to get Manta to shut up.

"Listen, shrimp, I don't have much time to say it, so I'll just get right to it," he said, falling onto one knee. "If at all possible, would you mind getting someone to pick me up at Funbari Hill Cemetery?"

"Uh, why're you there?" Manta asked unsurely.

"It's nothing," Ren replied, the phone slipping from his fingers. "Just get them to come, alright?" As soon as the sentence was out, the phone fell from his hand and hit the ground. Manta's voice could be heard clearly, yelling for Ren.

"Let's get this over with," Ren said, pulling himself up.

"You've lost a lot of blood. Are you sure you can go on?" Nichrome asked, Golden Whip waving its tail around.

"Sure. One more move, and I could probably kill you." The Tao smirked up at the Patch, his legs giving way. "So come at me. I'm _begging _you."

Nichrome hid behind his bangs, shadows covering his eyes, and he grounded his teeth together. His body shook with anger, and when he lifted his head, his eyes were glazed over.

"_You're _begging _me_ to attack you!?" he demanded. The Tao chuckled.

"Do I need to repeat myself?" Ren twisted Bào Lèi to go deeper into the ground. "I'm just _dying _for you to attack." His eyes flashed as Nichrome's anger grew.

Nichrome hid again. Then, his chest rose violently in a laugh. At first, it was just a simple chuckle, but then it just started guffawing, and his eyes watched the confused Tao. He took a step towards Ren, allowing Golden Whip's tail to strike again, nearly slicing off Ren's ear. The closer he got, the harder the impact from the strikes were. One strike pushed him away from Bào Lèi as Nichrome stood beside it in his place. Ren sat up, the poison working on his muscles. Nichrome slammed his foot onto Ren's phone.

"Damn…That was the only phone I had," Ren grumbled.

"You're not going to need one in the spirit world," Nichrome barked, grinding it under his foot. "I'll make sure of that."

"Sure, whatever." Nichrome jumped at the sudden interruption. "But, would you mind handing me my weapon?" Nichrome reached for it, hesitated, and pulled back.

"Why do you want it?" he asked carefully.

"Can't a shaman go down strong?" Ren challenged. "After all, I've hit you already. I think I've already made it into the fight."

"Sure, but I'm going to kill you anyways." Nichrome reached for the sword's hilt.

"Is it because I killed Chrom?" Nichrome watched the smirk on Ren's face, before one formed on his own.

"Not at all." Nichrome held his hand out for Bào Lèi. "I just don't like you." Nichrome curled his fingers tightly around the sword's handle.

Big mistake.

Thousands of watts of electricity ran from the ground, up the sword, and into Nichrome's hand. The patch screamed and wailed as the electricity stung every part of his body, from head to toe. Nichrome was able to yank his burning, bleeding hand from Bào Lèi, gripping it to his chest. His entire frame was smoking from the heat and his clothes were singed. He looked up at the Tao with rage. The shock from Bào Lèi had caused him to lose concentration on his Over Soul and disengaged it. His ally was now floating beside him, worried about him. Ren simply smiled to himself, pleased at how well that went.

"You…what was that!?"

"It's called an 'electric shock,' Nichrome. Didn't the Patch have science?"

"Shut up, Tao!!" Nichrome shrieked. "Ouugh, my hand…!" Ren could hear footsteps coming up the stairs of the cemetery.

"Looks like I'm still in, Nichrome," he announced proudly. "You can't deny I didn't hit you."

Nichrome's breathing was labored, and his brow knit together. He pulled out a new Oracle Pager and threw it at Ren. It landed next to his foot.

"You better pray you didn't short it out," he growled, wrapping his cloak around him and jumping from his spot. Ren's vision blurred as he fell back, his muscles relaxing painfully.

"Damn, I hope _I_ don't short out," he murmured. "That would suck."

**Later…**

"You sure he'll come to?" Manta asked. The doctor nodded, closing the lattice door behind him.

"What did he _do_?" he asked.

"We're not too sure ourselves," Anna answered coldly. "The only thing I know is that he called Manta for help. That's not normal."

"I see…Well, when he wakes up, call me." The doctor nodded and turned to leave. Anna followed him out.

"Of course, Doctor." She smiled as she followed him to the door. As soon as he was outside, she slammed the door hard enough to break it. "When hell freezes over and Ren wears a dress." She turned on her heel and marched back into the main room. Yoh had already finished his fight and was relaxing with Manta and Ryu, who had already won his fight.

"So, he's okay?" Yoh asked, jumping up.

"Yeah, he's fine until Faust gets here." Anna pushed him back down and sat beside him.

"And when will that be?" Manta asked.

"If he uses his Over Soul, he can be here by tomorrow afternoon," Anna informed. "But he could be here later tonight, depending on if he's already in Japan for the second tournament."

"So, either way, he'll be here before Ren dies?" Ryu asked, trying to clear the answer up.

"Maybe. If he's lucky." Her expression never changed as she spoke. "But we need to make sure Ren doesn't get out of bed if he wakes up, God forbid he does."

"Ren'll be okay," Yoh said confidently. "He's got a strong will. He's not gonna go down that easily."

**Author's Note: And now, I think I will kill Nichrome. ^w^ Maybe it's just because I hate him. At any rate, I'm gonna go ahead and remind you of a few things:**

**1. Send me some names of people whose fights you would like to read about, but only 6 people at a time. That includes shamans and Soul Reapers. **

**2. Who would you like to fight against each other in the prelims? Soul Reaper vs. Soul Reaper? Shaman vs. shaman? Soul Reaper vs. shaman? And who would you want to win? Send just three of those requests so I can write those. But if I get too many, I'll have to skip some fights so the story won't be crazy long. (Or maybe it **_**should**_** be crazy long! XD) At any rate, feel free to send those in.**

**And 3: Don't just read this story! Check out some of my other stories! Those are worth looking at as much as any other written here. X3 And if you have the time, review please! Thanks!!**


	3. The Reading of the Will

**Author's Note: Now, for the reading of the will! [insert overly dramatic music here] And the other prelim fights will be in the next chapter. Oh, and just so you know, if you wanna request Yoh as a fight chapter, go ahead. I can simply write what happened during Ren's fight, even if they were happening at the same time! (Someone was worried about that.) And when Soi Fon reads the will, it explains the first few basics of the Shaman Fight, so you don't have to read that. Just so you don't get bored, but the Soul Reapers have to know what they're going to need to do. So, if you get to that part and don't wanna read it, feel free to skip past the will part. Unless this is your first time reading about Shaman King. Then, it'll be foreshadowing of what's to come. ^w^ Enjoy!!**

Unohana and Isane had volunteered to clean out his room. Both women were polishing the floor, wiping at the windows and mirror, and pulling the sheets off the bed. Unohana was clearing away the Soutaicho's belongings that were left behind. Sometimes, her curiosity got the best of her, and she'd examine a few of the pieces of paper she was throwing away. From between a few pictures with the other captains, to pictures of newcomers he was greeting, she found something that interested her.

"The Soutaicho never really got around to cleaning, did he?" Isane asked jokily, trying to lighten the dark mood hanging around the room. Unohana smiled at her try and looked away to continue cleaning.

"No, he really didn't," Retsu replied in a calm voice. "But, when you're busy keeping the Seireitei safe from Arrancars and fighting against Aizen, cleaning your room is not something you really want to worry about."

"…I guess not." Isane laughed awkwardly and continued to fold up the sheets. Nanao came in, pushing her glasses up, and obviously flustered.

"That lazy old fart won't do _anything_!" she complained.

"Shunsui-taicho?" Unohana and Isane exchanged looks.

"He won't do _anything_!"

"So we've heard," Isane murmured.

"How about you help us, since your captain does nothing?" Unohana offered. "We've been cleaning up since about nine this morning."

Nanao hesitated, then smiled and nodded. She picked up two trash bags.

"I'll take these out for you and come back to help, alright?" Nanao said. Unohana smiled at her as Isane stood, holding a large bundle of sheets in her arms.

"I'll come with you," she offered. "I have to go throw these away, anyways." Nanao held the door open for Isane with her behind and followed after her. Unohana continued to read whatever had interested her earlier. The other things in her hands dropped. She gripped the paper and read every word, then rushed out of the room, catching up to Isane and Nano outside the 1st District.

"Nanao! Isane!" She came up behind the Lieutenants and started panting.

"What's wrong, Unohana-taicho?" Isane asked, placing the sheets onto the ground beside her.

"It's…his will…," she managed between breaths. "Yamamoto's…will…"

"His will!?" Nanao dropped the bags and looked over Unohana's shoulder with Isane as the captain stood up again. Both women read it over and looked at each other.

"What do we do?" Isane asked.

"Send out an announcement, Isane. We'll have Soi Fon read it, seeing as she's from the 2nd Division." Isane nodded and went to a flat patch of grass, readying for the spell.

"_Black and white net! Twenty-two bridges. Sixty-six crown string. Footprints, distant thunders, mountain peaks, valleys, night shadows, cloud sea, cyan line! Fill up the circle and zoom to the edges of the sky! Binding spell seventy-seven! Tenteikuura._"

Everyone around the Seireitei stiffened as the spiritual pressure shifted, and they could sense an announcement. Toshiro, who had been asleep until now, bolted up, scaring Hinmori, who had volunteered to watch over him for Rangiku. Matsumoto barged in, scaring both of the Shinigami.

"_Attention all captains, vice captains, and visitors,_" she started. "_While tidying up the Soutaicho's quarters, we found an important document that needs to be heard by all bodies. Please come to the main hall for a reading of the document. Soi Fon-taicho is needed for a private conversation by Unohana-taicho_." Isane finished and by the time the mark disappeared, Soi Fon was waltzing up to Retsu, her hips swinging from side-to-side that still suggested she had the slightest bit of female in her, other than her anatomy.

"What is it you want to see me about?" she asked, her brow knit, forehead wrinkling.

"This," Retsu said, handing the paper over to the captain. "I was wondering if you could read it to the others, considering you're the second captain."

Soi Fon took the paper and gracefully flipped it over so she could read the _kanji_. As she began, her brow came together as much as it could. Her other hand jerked up to grab the paper by the other side, her eyes scanning the page unimaginably quick. She stiffened, and then stopped. One of her brows rose in confusion, shaking her head. She looked up at Retsu with a confused expression.

"I don't know, either," the captain answered, shrugging. "It's just what he wanted."

Soi Fon blinked and reread the paragraph again.

"But, that's so strange," she murmured, looking back up. Nanao and Isane had rid of the items, and were returning from their jobs. "Is that even happening at the moment?"

"I'm not too sure," Retsu admitted. "But, we have to do it. It's in there."

Soi Fon watched her for a moment, sighed, and turned around. "Alright, I'll read it," she decided. "But, what happens if it's not happening?"

"Then we wait." Retsu placed a hand on Retsu's shoulder and gestured for her to follow. "After all, it happens every 500 years. It shouldn't be too far from now."

**Now, in the main hall…**

Every captain, vice-captain, and Shinigami was crowded in- and outside of the main hall, awaiting the news that Soi Fon had for them. Retsu squeezed her way through the crowd and came to her position with Isane, who performed her spell again so that the Shinigami who were too far away from Soi Fon could hear as well. The second captain made sure her vice-captain was there before she cleared her throat. All talking in the hall and beyond stopped almost immediately. She took a deep breath before starting.

"_By the time this is found, I'll most likely be gone. But I want every Shinigami to know that I care for them, and I have a decision for the next Soutaicho. Of course, they will have to prove themselves worthy of being so._" The main hall filled with voices whispering or talking in a low tone. Soi Fon allowed them to speak until everyone quieted down again. "_A special tournament occurs every 500 years to determine one thing: the next Shaman King. Supposedly, shamans are people with strong connections to our world and they are capable of harnessing our energy and using it to help themselves and others. The 'Shaman Tournament' is a series of fights that test the 'furyoku' levels and strengths of a shaman. The one who overcomes all of their enemies, passes through the 'Sanctuary of Stars,' and combines with the 'Great Spirit' becomes the 'Shaman King,' and decides how they wish to rule the world for the next 500 years before stepping down and allowing the next Shaman King to take their place._" Soi Fon paused, rereading the paragraph to herself to make sure she understood what she was reading. When she had finally comprehended it all, she continued. "_And I want all of you to participate in the Shaman Tournament._"

That was when Soi Fon had to quiet everyone herself so she could continue.

"_The Patch, who are hosting the event, have agreed to this, and are allowing us to join the Shaman Tournament. However, you must first past the test to enter the tournament, by forming an 'Over Soul' and hitting them at least once._" Talking started again and Soi Fon slammed her flat against the hardwood. Everyone immediately ceased talking. "_For this, they are willing to pass of a _shikai_ for an Over Soul. Once you have passed the test, you will receive an Oracle Pager. The Oracle Pager will show you your opponents and locations for the preliminaries. Win two out of three of your preliminaries, and you're in the Tournament."_

Everyone began speaking again, more about what an "Oracle Bell" looked like. Soi Fon continued reading, every Shinigami watching and listening in fascination. By the time she was finished, everyone was excited about the Shaman Tournament and everyone wanted to become Shaman King as well. Yachiru was cheering for a very self-confident Kenpachi.

"So, it's agreed?" Soi Fon asked. "We all participate in the 'Shaman Tournament'?"

The entire hall was filled with cheers and yells and Soi Fon was pretty sure she heard an argument occur somewhere where she couldn't see.

"WAIT!" Everyone went silent as Toshiro stepped forward and looked up at Soi Fon. "So what you're saying is that it's every Shinigami for themselves?"

"Seems like it," Soi Fon answered. Toshiro nodded, pondering it over, and stepped back.

"Alright," Ichigo said, moving his shoulder around. "This'll be fun. I wonder what punk I'll get to throw around." Ichigo could just faintly hear his Hollow chuckling to himself. Ichigo shook his head, and the laughing disappeared.

"This is gonna be fun, Ichigo!" Orihime said, latching onto Ichigo's arm. "We can be on the same team!"

"Orihime, you can't have teams yet," Chad said. "You have to make it into the Tournament first."

"I mean once we start making teams! I wanna be on his team!"

"Orihime, be realistic," Uryu scolded. "What if Ichigo doesn't _want_ you on his team?"

"Eh, I don't mind," Ichigo said with a grin.

"Alright, maybe I should say this: what if Ichigo doesn't _make it_ into the tournament?" Uryu smirked as Ichigo's temper rose.

"Come on, Uryu, I can do it. Just you wait." Ichigo strained a smile. "I'll probably kick your butt. Me and Zangetsu." He gripped the handle of his sword tightly and felt a wave of energy shoot through him, as if Zangetsu was saying "Yeah, let's go!"

"So, every Shinigami is to report to a specific location in the World of the Living. Ichigo and his friends may report back to Japan, since they _live_ there." Soi Fon nodded towards Ichigo and his group. Ichigo held his hand up in a wave and shifted his weight. "Once the captains have agreed on everything, everyone will follow one captain and go to their specific place, but spread out so that it doesn't look suspicious."

"Yes, because a large amount of random people suddenly popping up doesn't seem suspicious," Matsumoto murmured, making Toshiro kick her to make her shut her mouth. She folded her lips to keep from screaming.

"I guess that's it," Soi Fon said, making sure she had read everything. "We set out tomorrow."

"Heh, I set out _today_." Ichigo, Orihime, Chad, and Uryu danced through the crowd of Shinigami and finally popped out of the crowd, still capable of hearing Soi Fon thanks to Isane's spell. Ichigo grinned and laughed as Orihime bounced around and cheered for herself and the other boys.

"Ichigo!" a weak voice called, and the orange head turned around to see a fretting Rukia running after him. She stopped and stood up straight, trying to keep her usual, calm self.

"Hey, Rukia." Ichigo smiled at her. "You look tired."

"Because I am," she answered, panting. "Um, listen, I want to know if…"

"Sure, you can be on my team in the 'Shaman Tournament,' " he joked, laughing.

"…if I'll see you after the Tournament," she finished. Ichigo could feel the blush creeping up his face and Chad started whistling as he, Uryu, and Orihime turned to give them privacy. Ichigo looked over his shoulder and turned back to Rukia, who just stood in front of him, the awkward feeling slowly sinking in. The feeling thickened when he saw Byakuya peeking out at them.

"Of course! I'll win this thing!" he said, grinning. "Don't worry, Rukia, I'm not going down this easily. Well, I might with Kenpachi and Byakuya here. Damn him and his evil petals of doom." Rukia laughed at his joke, and Byakuya reached for Senbon Zakura.

"Don't worry about a thing, Rukia." Ichigo walked over and messed up her hair. "I'll be fine. Just take care of yourself."

"…Okay," Rukia said, smiling up at Ichigo. Then, she gave the poor strawberry a heart attack. She leaned up and kissed him _right_ on the cheek. She beamed up at him and turned, walking away with a little swing to her hips. Ichigo hated himself for letting his eyes travel further down than they were supposed to, and turned back towards his friends. Orihime hated to admit it, but a small tightening in her chest told her that she was jealous of Rukia. Ichigo, his confidence now higher a bit, turned back as two Soul Reapers conjured up a _Senkaimon_ so they could return to Karakura. He turned to wave to Rukia, saw Byakuya giving him the fatal "Touch my sister and my 'petals of doom' will cut up your ass" look and he zipped back around, quickening his pace into the _Senkaimon_. Orihime scooched closer to Ichigo.

**Back in the World of the Living…**

Ichigo waved goodbye to his friends and opened the door. He was met by a long rant on being home on time for dinner and next time, Yuzu would let his dinner get cold. And then, that was followed by a rant up the stairs about how he needs to call and ask for permission before he spends a night away from home and how she needs to know where he's going to be staying in case something happens and she needs to call him. And _that_ was followed up by a boot to the head.

"Ichi-nii, what happened?" Karin asked once Yuzu and Isshin were downstairs having their own crying circle.

"What do you mean, Karin?" he asked, flopping over on his bed.

"I mean, what happened in the Soul Society?"

Ichigo shot up.

"How do you—?"

"Toshiro explained it to me," she said, sitting by him, "when I asked him where Soul Reapers came from."

"Really? He didn't say 'they come from a stork'?"

"Ichi-nii, _you're_ the only one that thinks your funny."

"Yeah, I know." He messed up Karin's hair and she tried to straighten it out. He laughed and pulled her into a hug. She wrapped her arms around his waist, and they just sat there for a moment, enjoying the light mood hanging in the air. Ichigo let out a sudden, loud breath.

"…It feels like you're about to leave for a long time," she said, not looking him in the eye. Ichigo just pulled her tighter. "Well, are you?"

Ichigo hesitated.

"Maybe."

Karin pulled away, examining her brother for a moment.

"Why do you always disappear?"

Ichigo rubbed the back of his neck, trying to find a way to explain to her. Karin repeated her question.

"It's Soul Reaper business."

"I can't know about it?"

"It's confidential, Karin!"

"Then why did _Toshiro_ tell me?" she demanded, her voice rising along with her temper.

"Because he's stupid and small!"

Karin's brow knit together as tight as it would go as she examined her brother hard. He looked back, shocked at her sudden anger, but he was upset as well.

"Ichigo, anything _Toshiro_ tells me, _you_ can tell me." Her voice lowered, in case Yuzu and Isshin were listening in. Ichigo blinked.

"And what is it with you and Toshiro? You two see each other everyday." He rested his chin on his folded hands. Karin was flustered, a blush creeping across her face. She looked away from her brother, pretending something on his nightstand interested her.

"Karin, I'm on the _bed_, not the nightstand," Ichigo said to get her attention. She blinked and rubbed the back of her neck. "Karin…"

"It's none of your business!" she shot back. "If _I _can't know why you're disappearing all the time, it's none of your business what Toshiro and I do!"

Ichigo shot up.

"What has he done to you?"

"Nothing!"

"I swear, if he took away your virginity…"

"DAMMIT, ICHIGO, ALL WE'RE DOING IS DATING!!" she screeched, her nostrils flaring. Then, her hands slapped up to her mouth. Ichigo stared at her, wide-eyed, and shook his head, blinking.

"You're what!?" he exclaimed.

From outside the room, you could hear two pairs of feet flee downstairs.

"Nothing!" Karin yelled, stomping over to the door. She opened the door and slammed it shut. Ichigo flinched.

"Yikes. When Karin's premenstrual, she really _does_ have mood swings." He fell back onto his bed, thinking about what a difference Karin was to him. He told her about his job in the Soul Society, let her know about him being a Soul Reaper, and even allowed her to 'see' a captain of the Gotei 13. Now, _dating_ was too far. He'd have to talk to Toshiro about that last part.

**Author's Note: Wow, this chapter was 10 pages long on Microsoft Word. I think this is my longest chapter EVER. X3 I had to put in the hint of IchiRuki for my readers, and for me, the HitsuKarin. …I feel a sense of pride here. XD Anways, fave, review, all that good stuff. And tell me whose fight you wanna read about.**


	4. Yoh vs Silva, and Manta Phones in

**Author's Note: Chapter four!! I was asked by my sis to write about Yoh's fight, so I've decided to do so. =3 I might not be updating my stories often because of stupid classes, my grades in high school will suck, I'll tell you that, and plus, I have to work on something for my sister for her birthday, which is this Friday. And guess what? It's just barely been worked on. =3 I feel a slight sense of pride for procrastination. XD Not to mention I have accounts on Hokkaido Academy, Quizilla, and DeviantArt to keep up with. Help me! *drowns in a pool of requests* X3 Oh, and there's probably some confusion, but this is also post-KangZengBang part 1. So, they're still teenagers, and they still have the Elemental Spirits. Sorry for any confusion that might've popped up any time during the reading of the story.**

Yoh was relaxed. Nothing worried or bothered him. He had his hands underneath his bushy head of hair, one leg propped up on the other, and was just lying in the darkness, enjoying the comfortable air that was floating around the inn. Everyone was either asleep or lying in their beds and just relishing in the moment while it lasted. The Oracle Pager had started going off, and everyone was getting ready for the Destiny Star. Once it goes past, everything's going to change.

"Hey, Spirit of Earth?" Yoh looked over, moving only his head, and watched as his new ally appeared, taking the form of a cat. It slinked over to his bed and jumped up, peering over at him. Its coat was dark brown and very scratchy as it moved against his upper arm.

"What do you think?" he asked, moving to lie on his side. "Do you think I can win this?" The cat smiled, reminding Yoh of Matamune. "Hehe, me too." He lifted his free arm and scratched the cat's head, making it lean into his fingertips. He grinned and laughed quietly to himself as the spirit began purring.

But that all ceased as a light lit up everything, and Yoh sprung up, his Oracle Pager beeping. He could hear multiple others going off in the house as well. A shadow moved in front of the light and was gone in a flash. Yoh couldn't see it clearly, but he was sure he saw a point on it somewhere. Yoh jumped up, clenching the Oracle Pager in his hand and searched the room for _Harusame_.

"Yoh, if you're going to fight, at least know where you keep your weapon." Yoh whipped around as his fiancée threw him his sword. He caught it and looked up at Anna with a blank expression before his lips spread into a large grin. Anna smiled down at him.

"Be careful," she said as he ran past her. Yoh stopped, smiled at the back of her head, and leaned over to peck her on the cheek. Anna blushed, jumping, and was about to yell at him when Yoh disappeared before she could turn around. She stared at the empty hallway, her fist raised up as if she was ready to hit someone in the face. A slight blush tinted her cheeks as Tamao came out, nearly being run over by an excited Horokeu.

**In an isolated part of Tokyo…**

Yoh, with _Harusame_ in hand, entered the abandoned lot, which had been rumored to be haunted. But that rumor was bogus. The rumor was made up by a bunch of kids who needed a place to hang out. And when Ren was walking through here, the kids decided their lives weren't worth it, and attacked him. _That _ended up with three hurt kids, one kid unconscious, and a very angry Chinese shaman, who took his new anger out on Horokeu, and felt better. Until Anna decided she wanted to insult him, which also had Ren beat on Horokeu yet again.

"What a strange place to go to. _Ne_, Silva?" Yoh asked as the Patch official leaped from a small building nearby, landing gracefully onto the concrete in front of Yoh. The younger Asakura simply smiled.

"Well, we couldn't possibly fight in the cemetery again," Silva said, Silver Wing appearing on the Patch's arm. "That's where Nichrome is holding one of his tests."

"Really?" Yoh cocked his head, the confused puppy-dog look on his face. "Hm. I hope Ren doesn't get caught up in the trouble."

"Well, actually, Ren is one of the shamans he needs to pass," Silva explained.

"Oh, the irony." Yoh chuckled to himself. "Well, either way, Ren'll make it through. He's strong." Yoh unsheathed _Harusame_.

"I suppose you're right," Silva agreed, his other spirits taking form. "But in any case, we still have your test to go through. You already know how to use the Over Soul, but you still need to hit me one time."

"This test again?" Yoh grinned. "How about we make it interesting?"

Silva jumped at the proposal, then tapped his chin and smiled. "Interesting like how?" he asked, his brow cocked.

"Say, the time limit is ten minutes, as last time. But whoever gets hit the most times in the ten minutes loses. If I hit you more times than you hit me, then I win, and I get to pass. But if you hit me more than I hit you, I lose," Yoh explained, trying not to lose himself in the process. Silva processed it in his mind and nodded.

"Alright, I get it," he said.

"Good." Yoh laughed as Spirit of Earth appeared, floating beside him. Silva looked at the entity beside the Asakura boy, but not as if it was a surprise. He, along with Ren, Horokeu, Chocolove, and Lyserg, all entered hell and came back with new skills, as well as receiving the 5 Elemental Spirits from Sati's men.

"You still have that spirit?" he asked. "What about Amidamaru?"

"Oh, he's here somewhere," Yoh said as Spirit of Earth formed into a spirit ball. "I haven't seen him for a while." Yoh simply chuckled and placed the sheath on the ground.

"Well, shall we get to the fight?" Silva formed all of his Over Souls as Yoh started his own. "Are you ready, Yoh Asakura?"

"You should've asked that about two hours ago," Yoh said with a groan. "I felt _waay_ better then…" He slumped over.

"Alright, Yoh, jokes aside…"

"Yeah, Silva, I'm ready." Yoh chuckled as Silva made a move. The Patch used Silver Horn to kick Yoh, but metal formed in front of the Asakura's side, denting when Silva's foot contacted. Yoh freaked for a moment and jumped back, his back pressed tightly against a wall.

"Shit!" he yelled as Silver Rod plunged into the concrete wall near his head. Goosebumps went up his body and he shuddered.

"Well, Yoh, are you going to attack?" Silva challenged. Yoh dodged out of the way of another attack from the Patch, rolling the side, and charged. His sleeve was ripped off and the head of his swan Over Soul struck Silva once, pushing him into the asphalt and he slid. Yoh smiled proudly at himself.

"That's one hit for me, none for you!" he exclaimed.

"You might want to check yourself again, Yoh," Silva said, blood running down his forehead. Yoh jumped and looked at his sleeveless arm. A large gash had formed on his upper arm and blood was running down his arm. He laughed and grinned up at Silva.

"Wow. I never felt it."

"Silver Rod's fangs are capable of penetrating the skin without the opponent knowing," Silva informed.

"So I noticed." Yoh chuckled. "Shall we continue?"

"As you wish." Silva and Yoh lunged for each other and began blocking and attacking. Yoh twisted _Harusame _to block Silver Shield and gasped as Silver Horn hit him in the gut. He slid backwards on his feet, but managed to stand his ground.

"Two hits for me, Yoh." Silva checked the Oracle Bell on his wrist. "Six minutes left."

"No problem!" Yoh said, ignoring the bruise and possible internal bleeding. "I can get those last two hits in the next six minutes." Yoh's Over Soul increased.

"Let's go for it, Yoh." Silva smiled at the shaman. "Five minutes left."

"Thanks for adding to the pressure," Yoh joked, appearing in front of Silva before the Patch could blink. Silver Shield increased his size, blocking the hard attack from Yoh's Over Soul. But that didn't stop him from slamming into the side of a building. Yoh appeared in front of Silva and pushed him more into the side of the building, making it crumble. Yoh jumped out of the way as Silva threw his fist across his front.

"That's a tie," Yoh said, grinning like a fool. "One more hit, and I'll have done you in." He chuckled, stopping when his phone rang. He pulled it out. "Anna got the phone working?"

Without a second word, Yoh answered.

"_Moshimoshi_?" he said into the phone.

"Yoh! We need help!" Manta screamed.

"Whoa, wait…Manta, calm down…I can't understand…MANTA!" Yoh screamed, making the small kid jump. "Now, tell me slowly, _what._ _Happened_?"

"It's Ren!"

"Oh dear Lord, did he hang Horo from the roof _again_?"

"No, but that would've been better than what happened." Manta's tone immediately lowered, as if he was worried about something.

"What happened to him!?"

"Well, he called me from the cemetery and wanted me to help him with something—he wanted us to pick him up, actually—but then I heard Nichrome, and the phone line went dead!"

"What!? Okay, I'll be there in a sec! Meet me at the cemetery!" Yoh ordered. "Okay!?"

"Got it!" Manta confirmed, hanging up. Yoh closed his cell phone, and looked up as Silva clapped slowly. The Patch approached, his Over Souls disengaged. Yoh blinked.

"Congratulations, Yoh, it's a tie," the Patch announced. Yoh blinked.

"Your ten minutes are up. It's a tie." Silva smiled down at Yoh. Yoh blinked, and groaned.

"What!? It's a tie!" Yoh demanded, fretting. "Oh man, this means I'm not in the Tournament, doesn't it!? It means I lost! Shit! Anna's going to cut my butt off and hang it above the fireplace! That's really creepy, but I_ know_ she'll do it! If not, she'll get Ren to teach her something illegal—" Yoh's eyes landed on the new Oracle Pager in front of him, and looked up at the Patch.

"Congratulation, Yoh, you also made it into the tournemant," Silva announced, placing the pager into Yoh's open hand.

"But I thought you said it was a tie!?"

"It was. But I know what you're capable of, and the Great Spirit believes you may make it through."

Yoh paused.

"…You just like me," Yoh decided. Silva stared at him.

"No, the Great Spirit—"

"Blah, blah, you just like me cuz I'm a distant relative!" Yoh chuckled and shook his head, then remembered Ren, and turned. "I've got to get going! Ren could be dying!"

"Knowing Nichrome, that's very possible." Silva rubbed his chin and watched as Yoh ran off as fast as his legs would carry him, picking up _Harusame_'s sheath and putting the sword into it. Spirit of Earth was floating beside him, following as fast as it could.

**In the cemetery…**

"Over here!" Manta called as Yoh spotted his friend. Behind the dwarfed teenager were Horokeu and Anna. And on the ground, his breathing labored, was Tao Ren. Yoh's stomach fell as he approached.

"What happened!?" he asked as Horokeu stood up, his jacket and hands covered in the Tao's blood.

"He regained consciousness a few minutes ago," Horokeu answered. "Said something about Nichrome being a bastard and then groaned. Then he passed out."

"I think Nichrome might've gone too far," Manta observed.

"It looks like someone got shocked." Anna pointed towards a blackened spot on the path. The black ground looked like lightening had hit it multiple times. Anna reached for the sword, hesitated, then reached again, hesitated again, and finally took it. It shocked her, and she jumped back. "That stupid, pointy-haired Tao brat still left some electricity in it!"

"Come on, let's find a way of getting Ren home and calling Faust," Horokeu said, taking the handle of the sword in his hand. He jumped back. "Ow! Ren shocked me as well."

"That's not Ren doing it, Horo."

Everyone went silent as the sword started giggling. Spirit of Rain went into the sword, disappeared for a moment, and then yanked Spirit of Thunder out. It looked up sheepishly, as if apologizing for shocking them. Yoh grinned, taking _Bào Lèi_ out of the ground, and the blade shrunk.

"Oh. Looks like Anna and I have to apologize."

"For what?" Anna demanded.

"For accusing Ren of shocking you!"

"Oh, I'm not apologizing to anyone."

"What!?"

"You heard me. I'm not apologizing to anyone."

"But why not!?"

"Because I just won't," the Itako answered cruelly.

"Same old Anna," Yoh said with a laugh. Yoh attempted to cover Ren's wound with his jacket, failing miserably.

"He's bleeding badly."

"Thank you, Horokeu, we had _no idea_," Manta said, trying to help block the wound. "Hey, Yoh, ask Anna if we can borrow—"

"No," she answered immediately.

"What!?"

"You heard me, shorty, I'm _not_ lending that pompous snob my bandana." Anna crossed her arms.

"And why not!?"

"Because, I don't like him."

Yoh glared at Anna, actually_ glared_, and jumped up, walking over and gripping her collar.

"Ren is about to _die_, Anna! My best friend is about to _die_! I don't care if you don't like him, I don't care if you don't like his _hair_! I need to get his wound closed up, and get him to a doctor _now_!! Now grow up and give me that bandana, or leave! I'm not letting Ren die just because you're in a _mood_!" Anna stared at Yoh for a moment, then took off her bandana and handed it to him. Yoh clenched it tightly in a fist, whipped around, and rushed back to his friend's side. Horokeu, still flabbergasted at Yoh's outburst, helped sit Ren up so Yoh could tie the bandana tightly around the Chinese shaman's waist.

**On a rooftop, observing the happenings going on…**

"Oh, what a joy," a voice purred, its owner twisting a lock of his hair in his fingers. "It seems that there's been a large amount of spiritual energy leaking out into this world from the next one."

A gold lion appeared by the owner as he pulled his Oracle Pager out to examine it. The lion growled beside him, almost in praise. The owner chuckled and scratched behind the large cat's ears.

"Don't worry, G.S., you'll get to shine soon enough," the boy said, watching as Horokeu and Yoh attempted to take Ren home. "All too soon."

"Hao Asakura," a voice said as a large wave of spiritual energy swept over him. The older Asakura stood up and turned, seeing three men in black kimono walk over to him. The group was made up of a man with brown hair and a lock hanging between his eyes, a man with gray hair and a _kitsune_ smile across his lips, and a man with cornrows, goggles covering his obviously blind eyes, and dark skin.

"You must be Sosuke Aizen." The man stopped, his expression never changing, but the flash in his eyes showed curiosity. Hao patted the lion beside him, which was now growling furiously.

"Yes. I was wondering if an alliance was in order," Sosuke said, bravely taking a step forward. The lion's growl grew louder. Sosuke stopped.

"What do you mean?" Hao stepped closer, making the blind man flinch. "An alliance?"

"Teaming up together!" Sosuke spread his arms. Hao's smirk wiped right off his face, the lion roaring now. People below stopped, fretting over the sound. Yoh and the others were long gone by now, possibly gone back home, far from Hao's location.

"_You're _asking _me_ to join _you_?" Hao demanded. Sosuke watched him, his expression still unchanging. "How stupid do I look to you?"

"Not very, but maybe a little…"

"Those were the wrong words to say."

Fire blazed up in front of Hao, and the two men behind Sosuke jumped for him. Hao sneered at the flames as they licked towards the sky, sending a heat wave around the area of the fire.

"You just don't know when to give up, do you, you snobby bastard?" he asked, turning the flames' heat up and melting through the concrete rooftop.

**Author's Note: =3 I feel proud of Yoh. Oh, and Hao can still control fire. He's just not Hao without his fire, now is he? *makes sure the Hao fangirls don't kill me* And just to make things clear, I like Hao, but not as much as Ren. I am a Ren fangirl, and I will kill myself later for doing what I did for Ren. And I'm taking Nichrome with me. XD Next up is Byakuya's fight!**


	5. Flowers vs Arachnid

**Author's Note: Dun dun DUUUUUNNNN!!! [dramatic voice] Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, shamans and Shinigami! Put your hands together for…the eye-candy that every BLEACH fangirl loves…Byakuya Kuchiki!!! *is shot* Okay, that was RIGHT THERE! *holds hands out to gesture towards where it was* Besides, we all know Byakuya is the eye-candy of BLEACH. *looks towards angry fangirls* Anyways, before I get shot YET AGAIN, here's Byakuya's entrance fight, as requested by Shadowed Bankai.**

"Wow, he's handsome!" two schoolgirls giggled as Byakuya walked past them, a black jacket slung over his shoulder. He was wearing a white dress shirt and black pants, along with dress shoes. His hair was styled in his usual fashion, and his cold eyes scanned the crowd. A man started waving towards him, but the Shinigami captain simply turned his head and continued to make his way. Spiritual energy surged around the city. He could feel fights all around. But of course, not in the city. The "Patch Tribe" was smart enough, obviously, to keep the fights as far away from humans as much as possible. The beach sounded like a nice place to fight. He'd go there and wait for the Patch he would fight to be there. The night was falling quickly, and everything was soaked and wet from the rain that had occurred before. Byakuya's shoes slapped the water, creating a squishing sound.

As the Shinigami captain approached the beach, he saw a body walking towards him. From what he could make out in the darkness, the boy wasn't any older than 16, and a small body was floating beside him as well. His voice could barely resonate over the crashing waves and hiss of the water. The boy removed a silhouetted phone from his ear, closed it, and placed it in his pocket. The boy walked underneath a light, and Byakuya could make his features out clearly. Light blue hair with a gray hairline, a snowboard around his shoulder, and the clothes he bore were embroidered with Ainu patterns. The boy's eyes spotted him and he halted. There was a silence between them.

"…Who're you?" he asked the captain.

"No one of importance to you," Byakuya replied with a straight face. The blue Spirit, which had taken the form of a hawk, was resting on the boy's shoulder. Its gaze from Byakuya in place. The small body was a nature spirit that clung to the boy's sleeve affectionately. But that wasn't the only thing intimidating about the boy. His spiritual pressure was amazing, nearly making Byakuya's knees buckle. The captain simply took a deep breath.

"…Whatever, dude," the boy said, striding past the Shinigami captain. "You're not worth my time." Now Byakuya's pride was hurt. Not only that, but the boy just insulted him. Byakuya reached for Senbon Zakura, but his hand instantly froze. He stared down at it before looking up at the boy. His headband had fallen to cover his forehead, and a shadow lingered in front of his face. Anger shone brightly in his eyes.

"I'm really pissed off, man," he warned the Shinigami as the ice began melting at a quick pace. "You'd best not bother me now." The boy turned and began walking away as if he was the King of France. Byakuya flinched as the cold ice burst, and he gripped his already numb hand. To be able to produce ice out of thin air like that…he reminded him almost of Toshiro. Almost.

Byakuya rubbed his hand in hopes of getting the feel back as he scaled the shore, letting the water spray his pants. The water was cool and the sand clumped together from the rain. Byakuya remembered his time with Hisana, and how Hisana had always wanted to see the beach.

_Hisana…_, he tought solemnly. _If only you could see this beautiful beach. It's…breathtaking._ Byakuya took some time examining the horizon before turning towards the sudden spiritual energy that suddenly appeared there. A young boy, his clothes burnt, walked across the sand, limping slightly. He had orange stripes under his eyes and sneered once his eyes landed on Byakuya. The young boy stopped, obviously ready to stand his ground. His robes were torn and ripped as well, and a scorpion was secured safely onto his lower arm.

"So, you're one of _them_, aren't you?" he asked. Byakuya looked the kid up and down and laughed once.

"And you're a 'Patch'?" he returned. "Not very clean, are you?"

"Shut up!" the kid snapped. "I just got electrocuted with thousands of volts of electricity! You try going through that and then fighting a stupid death god who couldn't keep his old man alive!"

Byakuya unsheathed Senbon Zakura and held it out so that it was parallel to him. The Patch's eyebrow rose in curiosity.

"Oh, and what's that? Your 'medium'?" The Patch laughed to himself. "And I can't wait to see what your 'Over Soul' is. Maybe it'll be better than the idiot with the sword." Byakuya eyed him intently. "He had another sword. Completely unrelated."

"Can we please get on with this?" Byakuya asked, his expression unchanging. "I have to overlook my sister's battle as well, and I wish to get this over with."

The boy glared at him and the scorpion crawled over onto the Patch's shoulders. Byakuya stared in amazement at the arachnid. The Patch grinned at the reaction he received and allowed the scorpion to form his Over Soul. Byakuya's eyes widened at the movement.

"_This_ is an Over Soul, poser," the kid sneered. Byakuya's eyes narrowed as he held his _zanpakuto_ near his face, the blade beginning to shine.

"Scatter…_Senbon Zakura_." The blade broke into tiny, pink petals and rushed towards the Patch. He gasped and used the scorpion's tail to propel himself out of the way, striking at Byakuya. The Shinigami captain held his hand up, catching the tail in his hand when it was inches away from his neck. The Patch growled from anger and wrenched out of his grip, dodging the _sakura_ petals. They left the sand churned up and the ground damaged. Byakuya only need lift a finger to attack and turn the Patch into mincemeat.

"So, this is a _shikai_…," the boy admired. His eyes lit up. "Fascinating."

"You know about _shikai_?" Byakuya questioned, his guard lowering.

"_Bankai_, _shikai_, _zanpakuto_…" The boy chuckled. "The Great Spirit knows everything."

"More of this 'Great Spirit' business…" Bykuya rolled his eyes. "What is it anyways?"

"None of your business, that's what it is." The Patch thrust his scorpion's tail at the Shinigami, but the petals penetrated the chains of the tail, and it fell to the sand, the _sakura_ floating in a cloud in front of the terrified boy.

"Well then, what's your name?" Byakuya asked.

"What's it to you!?" the boy demanded as the _sakura_ came closer.

"I like to know the names of those I defeat." Byakuya tilted his head, looking at the boy's legs. "Of course, I would like to see the spirit you're concealing oh-so-amazingly well. The one hiding underneath your cloak."

The boy gasped and looked at himself. He chuckled and looked up at Byakuya.

"You Shinigami surprise me," he sneered, pulling his cloak off his shoulders and tossing it to the side. The purple sprit had taken the form of armored legs and the boy seemed much taller. "I'm Nichrome. And which idiotic death god do I have the pleasure of killing?"

"Byakuya Kuchiki." Byakuya gave no warning as his _shikai_ jetted towards Nichrome, nearly slicing the kid in half. The connections of the scorpion's tail lifted from the thick sand and came back together, like puzzle pieces. Nichrome knew every link of the tail, and Byakuya didn't see a part out of place.

"Interesting…" Nichrome tilted his head at an angle. "And what is your _zanpakuto_ called?"

"Maybe this will give you a hint." The blade reappeared onto the handle in Byakuya's hand. Nichrome perked up at the sudden retreat. Byakuya held the sword out in front of him. The air around him filled with spiritual pressure as the blade began glowing, releasing energy that made Nichrome shudder. A large obelisk of _sakura_ towered above Byakuya, and it separated out into wings on his back. A halo-like part appeared behind them as a dragon head opened its mouth and roared at Nichrome. The patch kid jumped back.

"_Senbon Zakura Kageyoshi._" Nichrome's eyes widened at the sudden spiritual pressure surrounding him and his body shook. "_Shuukei Hakuteiken_." The wings' energy surged wildly, and Nichrome couldn't hide the terrified expression masking his face. Byakuya rushed up to the Patch's front, the _sakura _lacerating anything it could touch. Blood fell and mixed in with the sand and water.

Byakuya placed his _zanpakuto_ into his sheath, walking up and looking down at the young Patch. Nichrome beat his fist into the sand, grunting every time he contacted the earth. Byakuya actually felt sorry for him. He knelt in front of Nichrome.

"I couldn't have lost!" the boy exclaimed. "I _couldn't_!! I could _never_…!"

"You did," Byakuya confirmed. "You lost."

"Dammit…!" Nichrome beat the ground again. Byakuya grabbed the boy's arm and lifted him up into a sitting position. Nichrome stared at the man in shock before trying to writhe from the Shinigami's grip.

"You need to calm down and accept your defeat," Byakuya ordered. "Losing your temper like a child won't help you." Nichrome's heart beat out of order and a wave of heat rose up to his face. Byakuya released the Patch boy and he threw something towards Byakuya. The Shinigami caught it and stared in amazement as his name appeared on the screen.

"That's an Oracle Pager," Nichrome explained, pulling his cloak over him. "That tells you when you fight for the preliminaries and who you're fighting. Of course, I don't expect you to make it very far."

"Then your expectations are fucked up," Byakuya murmured, fixing the Oracle Pager onto his wrist. "I'll win this childish tournament."

"If it's so childish, then why enter!?" Nichrome demanded. Byakuya turned to leave, picking up his sheath.

"Because it was ordered by the Soutaicho, you brat." Nichrome felt a shiver go up his spine, and he backed away as Byakuya walked from the beach. He was in a really sour mood.

**Author's Note: XD I feel slightly proud of myself for writing my first Byakuya vs. fight. And I had to add Horokeu, since he's not getting much attention yet. TT^TT Ah well! I'm also on DeviantArt, so look for me there. (Same name, by the way.) And I had to use Nichrome. Why? Cos he almost killed Ren, and I needed vengeance. MWAHAHAHA!!! *is shot yet again***


	6. The Substitute vs the Universe

**Author's Note: Just for my sister, I've decided to do Ichigo's entry fight. They need more Patches. *exasperated sigh* I'm sorry if you thought Byakuya's fight was too short. I felt it might've been too short. But, you know Byakuya, he likes to get things done quickly. Oh, and this might have some spoilers if you haven't read chapter 296 of KangZengBang. The Patch passing Ichigo is awesome!**

Ichigo's backpack was so _damn heavy_! Yuzu made him take three first-aid kits, four bento boxes, and a cell phone. Lord knows how she got all of these together in one night, but those footsteps retreating from the door when he and Karin had their spat last night might be how she knew he was leaving. Tokyo, as he was always told, was definitely larger then Karakura town. Orihime was right behind him, marveling at all the food places around. Yep, same old Orihime.

"Ichigo!" Orihime cried, swinging her arms around. Chad clamped them to her side, apologizing to people she hit or almost hit. "We have to eat somewhere! I'm staaarrvinng!!"

"We'll do that later, Orihime. I have something I need to…" Everyone, even Uryu, whose lazy ass was trailing behind, froze in place. It was that same spiritual pressure that everyone in the Seireitei feared. They all seemed to say it at the same time.

"Aizen…"

Ichigo immediately ate Kon's Candy (after having to wrestle with the bear and forcefully remove it from the stuffed toy) and bolted out of his body. Kon cried out and fell over at the unexpected weight on his back. Chad and Uryu followed as well. Ichigo scolded them, and Chad returned to Orihime. Kon had started making his move on her, and Chad easily removed the Soul Perv from her.

"Uryu, you sense it too!?" Ichigo called as the nimble teenager made his way through the crowd. Women yelled at him to say "excuse me" when he ran by.

"How could I not?" he said, appearing beside the Shinigami in seconds. "His spiritual pressure is amazing!"

Ichigo smirked, but that disappeared when a larger spiritual pressure masked even Aizen's, and Ichigo felt like he was in the middle of a fire. Smoke filled his nostrils, and he and Uryu looked up. A large inferno was roaring at the top of a building. Ichigo flash stepped up the side while Uryu looked for a way in. The substitute Shinigami gasped at the flames as the spilt apart, and a young man walked through them, a content smile on his face. A large lion was beside him, and growled when its eyes spotted Ichigo. He whipped out Zangetsu.

_Ichigo…!_

Ichigo hesitated at the voice inside his head. The boy's eyes landed on him as well. His face showed confusion, but his eyes flashed and said that he knew all too well.

_Ichigo! Withdraw!_

"Zangetsu?" Ichigo asked audibly, and the boy's brow rose.

_Ichigo, he's too strong…withdraw, now!_

"No way! I can take him," Ichigo argued.

_Don't be an idiot, boy,_ Zangetsu growled. Ichigo could almost see the sword's angered face, nostrils flaring. _Get out of there _now. _He's too strong for you! _Zangetsu gasped.

_I sense Aizen's gone_.

"What!?"

"I would do what that voice in your head says," the boy said slyly, making Ichigo and Zangetsu jump.

_How can he hear me!?_

"I can read your mind." Ichigo and Zangetsu both shivered at the pressure put on them. They noticed that the pressure increased as the boy came closer. "And I know you're not a shaman, Ichigo."

Now the kid was freaking him out. Ichigo tensed, the pressure overwhelming by now.

"Hao!" a synthesized voice snapped. An alien-like creature in a beige cloak appeared beside Ichigo. He could feel the tension between the two. "Leave. Now."

"Give me a good reason to." The kid smiled innocently. The air around Ichigo became heavy and pushed him harshly to the ground. Hao was on his knees as well, but the alien was not fazed at all. It continued to stare at Hao unblinkingly. Hao grimaced.

"How about I break every bone in your body?" the thing challenged. Hao winced as the air pushed him lower to the point where his knee was touching his nose. The lion, which was pushing against the air, growled audibly and roared. People beneath the building cried out in surprise.

"Just try it. You can't harm me!" The area around Hao and the lion sparked and flames rose all around them. Ichigo shut his eyes and held his arm up, as if it was going to protect him from the sparks. The alien then looked down at him, and the air lifted. Ichigo's shoulders were sore and he moved his arm around to help rid of the pain. His left shoulder popped audibly.

"So, who was that?" he asked the little alien.

"Hao Asakura," it answered, turning and walking casually towards the edge of the building, leaping over the large tar pit on the roof. Ichigo followed, his _waraji _getting stuck in the molten cement. He untied the sandal and left it. The alien looked back at him before pouncing off the top. Ichigo leapt from the side, flash stepping after the alien. It landed and spun on its toe, dodging out of the way as Ichigo landed.

"If you wanted to stalk me, all you had to do was say so," it said sarcastically.

"Aren't you a Patch?" he asked, pointing to its clothing. It looked at itself.

"Hm, so you must be a Soul Reaper," it mused. Ichigo nodded.

"Well, a substitute, but a Soul Reaper all the same," he corrected.

"Details." The alien shrugged. "They don't matter."

Ichigo gave the alien a surprised look and smirked.

"You know, I think I like you," he joked. The alien placed a delicate hand on its chest.

"I'm flattered." The face's expression never changed. "Are you entering the tournament?"

"Yes."

The alien muttered something in a different language that might've been an insult and pulled something out. It dangled the item in front of Ichigo's face. Ichigo stared at it.

"This is an Oracle Pager," it said. "You want it?"

"Does it get me into the tournament?"

"Actually, it means you're _already in_ the tournament."

"Then I want it!"

"Okay. Let's go." The alien jumped back. "You know what I can do, but what can _you_ do?"

"Huh?"

"Your _shikai_, _bankai_, whatever it is you Soul Reapers do." The alien's face leaned down to his. "I wanna see it."

"You sound like a kid."

"There are a lot of surprises in the world." Something about the alien's voice told Ichigo that it was smirking. Something. But, he stood up, a grin spreading across his face. He slung Zangetsu over his shoulder.

"Alright, let's go!"

"Follow me to the cemetery," the alien said, suddenly turning away from the Soul Reaper. "It seems Nichrome's done with what he had to do."

"Who?"

"No one of your concern." The alien started walking off, turning back when it realized that the Soul Reaper wasn't following it. "Well, come on. Let's go."

**Because I'm too lazy, and the fact that this chapter is already 5 pages long, I'm gonna go ahead and get them to the cemetery**

The alien inspected the burnt mark on the ground and chuckled to itself. Ichigo got into position to fight. The alien ignored him for a minute, inspecting the Oracle Pager it had on its wrist. It typed something in before returning its gaze to Ichigo. The Shinigami was surprised when the Patch suddenly raised its hand towards him.

"Are you ready, Soul Reaper?" it asked. Something about the tone of synthesized voice told Ichigo that he'd have to be careful when fighting this Patch.

"Yeah, let's go." Ichigo held Zangetsu out in front of him. The sword hung gracefully out in front of him.

"You have ten minutes to hit me. If you can't hit me within that time limit, you're not allowed in the tournament," the alien explained.

"Sure, I guess. By the way, what's your name?" he asked.

"Rutherford," it answered. Ichigo smirked. But all that disappeared when his sword slammed hard against the ground. The substitute's sword left a large laceration into the dirt. Ichigo stared at his sword in shock and looked up towards Rutherford.

"Wh-what the hell!?" he shouted.

"No, nothing to do with hell," Rutherford said calmly, his hand held out. "Simply my Over Soul."

"That thing again?"

"You'll be seeing a lot of those. You have nine minutes."

"Alright."

_Ichigo, use _bankai.

"Bankai?" Ichigo asked.

_Yes_, Zangetsu answered. _Rutherford might not expect it_.

"I hope he can't read minds!" Ichigo managed to use his spiritual pressure to break the pull on his sword. Rutherford gasped lightly, showing his surprise.

Maybe it was the fact that Ichigo broke the gravity pull on his _zanpakuto_.

Maybe it was Ichigo's _bankai's_ spiritual pressure pushing Rutherford away.

Or, it could even be the maniacal laughter erupting from his chest and the mask covering part of his face. Maybe black eyeballs and glowing orange pupils helped a bit also. In fact, it could be the entire thing by itself. Releasing his _bankai_ had given Hichigo a chance to come out, and the Hollow took the chance.

"Kee hee hee hee hee hee!" Hichigo chuckled, grabbing Rutherford's throat and slamming him against the ground, running and dragging the poor Patch against the dirt. Blood trailed all the way to the tree Hichigo slammed Rutherford against.

Hichigo gasped as the alien's head busted. The true face of Rutherford showed.

"You're a girl!?" Hichigo asked. Rutherford glared at him, the cute little face that she had, and her hand rose. That invisible force she controlled pushed Hichigo backwards, and the Hollow hit the ground hard, retreating back into Ichigo's subconscious. The mask shattered and disappeared as Ichigo groaned and sat himself up. He rubbed the unmasked side of his face, the black of his eye receding slowly. Rutherford stared at him, a frightened look on her face.

"Sorry about that, Rutherford," he said with an apologetic smile. "My Hollow wanted some action too, eh?"

Rutherford glared at Ichigo after what he said sunk in, tear blobs appearing in the corners of her eyes. Her bottom lip quivered.

"Oh shit, no!" Ichigo cried. "No, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to make you cry! I'm sorry!"

"I'm not crying!" the little Patch exclaimed, wiping away the tears building up. "My eyes are just dry!"

_Haven't heard that one before,_ Ichigo thought bitterly. Rutherford glared at him again.

"You broke my mask! You're gonna pay for that!" The air pushed Ichigo back onto the ground, rougher than before. Ichigo pushed back, trying to break the push of gravity. Maybe he could break it again.

"Calm…down…," he grunted. "Zangetsu, ready to go?"

_If you are_, the _zanpakuto_ responded.

"Here's what my _bankai_ can do, Rutherford. _Getsuga Tenshou Zangetsu_!" The black _reiatsu_ swarmed around the cemetery and broke Rutherford's gravity pull yet again. The girl gasped as Ichigo rose, the chain from the end of Zangetsu flailing around. The Shinigami held his _zanpakuto_ out towards the Patch. She swallowed as the attack rushed at her and slammed her, throwing her like a rag doll into the tree behind her. It snapped in half and she slid across the ground. Ichigo's _reiatsu_ retreated and his _bankai_ gave out. He had used more _reiatsu_ than he needed.

"Rutherford? Are you alright?" he called. The girl didn't move. "Rutherford!? Rutherford!!"

Ichigo rushed over to the girl's body. She stirred and pushed herself up, shaking. He tried to help her, but she pushed him away. Her robes were torn and dirty, and she had blood running all down her back. Her hair was matted with blood and dirt. She brushed herself off, her left arm lacerated in multiple places. She glared up at him, tears building up in her eyes again.

"I don't like you!" she announced, throwing the Oracle Pager and squaring Ichigo in between the eyes. "I hate you, Ichigo Kurosaki! _Hate _you!" She stomped away, not even bothering to pick up the pieces of her mask. Ichigo held the Oracle Pager in his hands, inspecting the device. His name appeared on the screen.

"This is an Oracle Pager?" he asked before his lips pulled back into a grin. "Cool."

**Author's Note: Okay, Higurashi moment: *grabs Rutherford in a chokehold* "**_**Hauuu! Omochikaeriiiii!!!!!" **_**XD I am **_**such**_** a nerd! Anyways, yes, Rutherford is my all time favorite patch! And if you don't know who Rutherford is, you probably haven't made it to the KangZengBang arc just yet. But if you have, you know who I'm talking about. And I've gotten a few requests for the preliminary fights. Ren vs. Urahara, Ren vs. Byakuya, Yoh vs. Ichigo, Horo vs. Toshiro (which I would **_**love**_** to write!!), and Lyserg and Chocolove vs. whoever. I wonder what would happen should Matsumoto and Lyserg fight…*begins pondering* At any rate, leave a review for a poor, unnoticed writer! She needs the criticism! Please and thanks!**


	7. The Shamans and Soul Reaper meet

**Author's Note: Just a random filler chapter because I don't know whose fight to write about next. Feel free to suggest anyone who hasn't been written about. I'm open for suggestions! **

Ren opened his eyes, a sickening pain shooting from his stomach to his throat. He felt as if he was going to puke, gagging a few times. His vision was blurred. A bowl was placed in front of him, and Ren retched. He felt as if he was going to puke up his intestines. Of course, that brought images to the young Tao's head and he vomited again. A body was near him, rubbing his back. Soft fingers brushed his hair behind his ears.

"Feeling sick, Ren?" a voice asked, placing a gloved hand against the boy's forehead. Ren brushed it away meekly; sweat slid down the side of his forehead.

"Ugh…damn Nichrome," he grumbled before throwing up again.

"You shouldn't move some much. You'll cough up a lung. Not like that's actually possible, but it's never been tried before…" The wonderful images coming into Ren's mind churned his stomach and he nearly did puke up a lung.

"Faust, please stop…" Ren felt weak for begging, but his stomach was killing him and his throat hurt from gagging and puking. He had a bad taste in his mouth. Fish wasn't a good choice for dinner.

"Are you alright now?" Faust questioned as Eliza wiped sweat from the young boy's face.

"Do I _look_ alright?" Ren demanded. Faust was taken back.

"No, not really." Faust took the bowl away to clean it. "That poison from Nichrome's scorpion must've had a side-effect on you." Ren collapsed back onto the futon beneath him, breathing heavily.

"I knew there was a reason I hated that Patch," he whispered mostly to himself. He placed an arm over his eyes, hoping to block out the harsh light. "When did you get here? I don't remember you being here last night."

"I was actually on my way here from Germany when I received a call from Manta saying you needed treatment. Of course, I had my Over Soul speed up to get here in time," Faust explained as he rinsed the plastic bowl. "Luckily I did arrive in time. You were nearly gone by the time I finally got to the inn."

"I owe you, don't I?" Ren asked.

"No, you don't." Faust returned by the futon in time as Ren leaned over and retched yet again. "I'm just glad you didn't die. Jun would've surely killed me."

"What does that matter?" Ren demanded. "She's too busy"—Ren threw up again, expecting his liver to come along with his dinner "—fawning over Bai Long."

"Jealous?"

"Not even." Ren fell back against his futon. "Have you made it into the tournament yet, Faust?"

"Yes, I have. I had Yoh and the others look after you while I was out." Faust took Ren's arm and injected something into him. Ren flinched at the penetration, but relaxed when it was removed. Eliza wiped his forehead again.

"Just rest up, Ren," Faust suggested. "You'll need your strength for the preliminaries."

"Don't I know it?" Ren mumbled, turning over so that he was comfortable and he didn't feel sick. Faust opened the lattice, allowed his wife to step through first, and followed after her. When Faust came out, wiping his hands, Yoh, Manta, and HoroHoro all rushed up to him. Faust stopped walking.

"Is he alright?" Yoh asked first, beating everyone to the punch.

"He's fine. A little sick, though," Faust answered.

"Good. I was hoping nothing bad happened to him." Yoh's arm was bandaged from his heavy battle with Silva, Horokeu was slightly in a bad mood from meeting that strange man, and Anna was mad because Ren had gone and gotten himself hurt, not to mention Yoh had yelled at her and gotten the beating of his life. The poor Asakura was now covered in bruises from the enraged Itako.

"He should be asleep by now." Faust kissed Eliza's hand. "Just leave him alone. He'll wake up with a bad attitude."

"Dude, he _always_ has a bad attitude, whether he's awake or not!" Horokeu yelled. "He punched me in his sleep once!"

"You probably deserved it," Manta said under his breath.

"I mean, sure, putting shaving cream in his hand was a bad idea, but I didn't deserve a punch in the face!" Horkeu messed up his hair while Pirika rolled her eyes.

"You tried to do _that_ prank on _Tao Ren_?" Lyserg asked, now coming in.

"I need to charge you all for staying here," Anna grumbled. "I'd make a fortune off you."

"Yes…" Horokeu realized how stupid he was to try the cliché trick.

"And the result was?" Lyserg pulled his shoes off.

"I got hit in the face." Horokeu rubbed his cheek as if he could still feel the sting of skin on skin. He probably could, knowing the young Tao's strength. "And when the idiot woke up, he had no idea!"

"Pot calling the kettle black!" Ryu called from the living room. Horokeu then went on a tangent about how Ryu should stay out of his and Ren's business, and that it wasn't his fault Ren socked him subconsciously. Lyserg grinned and followed the fuming shaman into the main room. Anna went to bed, surprising Yoh by kissing his cheek, and disappeared upstairs.

"No other guests?" Chocolove asked, coming inside. His spirit, which had taken the form of a snake, was wound around his arm, its head bobbing side to side near Chocolove's cheek. It stuck its tongue out, touching Chocolove's deep brown skin and turning from side to side, smelling the air. Almost immediately its tongue disappeared between the platinum lips.

"No. A 'vacancy' sign on an old inn in the middle of Tokyo isn't going to impress a _raccoon_," Yoh grumbled. "Besides, it's better this way. I don't have to work."

"But what about money?" Faust questioned as Eliza disappeared into the main room.

"My family owns the inn." Yoh grinned. "My dad pays for everything. Oh, and you guys might want to calm down about the video games. He says that it spikes up the power bill."

"No promises, dude," Horokeu said, making his way back to the main room.

"You think I'm kidding!?" Yoh ran after him. "My dad'll make _us_ pay for it if we don't lay off the games!!"

Faust and Manta looked at each other before chuckling, then jumping when Anna appeared downstairs in a kimono and her hair tied into a bun with chopsticks in it. She had a content look on her face and her kimono opened to show a little more leg than either boy wanted to see. She moved gracefully to the main room. Manta covered his eyes and Faust averted his eyes as he moved to his wife's side, kissing her knuckles affectionately, and wrapping his arm around the silent woman's slender waist. Eliza's lips pulled into a perfectly curved smile as her glowing cerulean orbs said her passionate feeling back to her husband.

"Up and at 'em, boys," she ordered, yanking her fiancé off his butt. "We have customers."

The group was about to question her when someone at the front gate knocked on the door. A certain change in the air around the inn informed the shamans that there were about four people outside, and they weren't shamans. They were some other type of being connected to the spiritual world, and the energy leaking from them was in no way furyoku, but seemed almost like it. Anna approached the door, her eyes shining with curiosity.

"Welcome to the Funbari Hill Onsen," she greeted without a smile or warm tone. Her voice was flat.

"Hey, uh, do you have vacancies?" a tall boy asked. He seemed to be about three feet taller than Anna. She cocked a brow.

"Yes, we do. Did you not read the sign?" she pointed to the wooden board with the word "vacancy" painted in black ink. It was written in both _kanji_, English, and Chinese characters (courtesy of Ren). "It's 100 yen a night per person."

"_One hundred yen_!?" the first boy gasped. "Are you kidding me!?"

"Take it or leave," Anna ordered. Yoh shook his head a few feet behind Anna. If they were smart, they'd leave. The boy looked at his three friends, then turned back to Anna and nodded.

"Alright, we'll take it." Yoh slapped his forehead inaudibly and shook his head. The girl spotted him, blinking.

_Maybe his head hurts_, she thought. She followed her male friends inside. Once she entered, Ryu spotted her almost immediately…or, more like spotted her breasts. He made a beeline for her, but two of her friends easily stopped him. Once Anna assigned them rooms—three of the boys in one, the girl in the other—the tallest one swept the girl off her feet and carried her past the girl-hungry Ryu and only dropped her off when she was in front of her room. The boy with glasses followed the very quick-footed male up the stairs as the other boy threatened Ryu that if he touched the girl—whom he addressed as Orihime—Ryu would wake up in a hospital breathing through a straw that had to be filtered through his nose. Not wanting to know how the boy could be capable of such a feat—and the image in his head of himself with a straw up his nose—Ryu quickly turned and power-walked into the main room. Anna told them to go take a bath and she would have Tamao and Manta whip something up for them. The boy bowed towards her and followed his group up the stairs.

"He had orange hair," Horokeu pointed out once Anna ordered Manta and Tamao to cook rice and smoke a salmon. "_Orange_ hair!"

"Horo, you have _blue_ hair," Lyserg pointed out. "If you make fun of his hair, wouldn't that mean you're a hypocrite?"

"Not what I was aiming for, Lyserg!" Horokeu shot the pine-haired boy a look. "If you go to Hokkaido, a lot of people there have blue hair. It's very common where I come from!"

"Right, right."

"Besides, pine-forest, you really have no room to talk!" Horokeu pulled at the feminine male's locks. Lyserg gasped at the sting of his hair being tugged.

"Ow! Horokeu, let me go!"

Horokeu continued to torture the poor English boy. Ryu attempted to imagine himself breathing through a straw in his nose. Pirika was trying to help Lyserg, and Chocolove was reading his joke book again, the Oracle Pager stashed in his skirt's pocket. Spirit of Wind was inspecting the book as well.

The girl returned downstairs, avoiding sitting by Ryu. She plopped herself down between Horokeu and Lyserg, her chest bouncing as she did. Horokeu simply averted his gaze as she and Lyserg began talking warmly to each other. He seemed to be comfortable conversing with her, and his eyes never flitted to her enormous bosom, not even once. Lyserg laughed at the things he thought funny.

"So, you're from Karakura Town?" Lyserg asked. "I've never been there before. I'll have to visit sometime."

"Oh yes, it's a very lively place!" Orihime said happily, her bright smile arousing the lady-crazy male. Pirika frowned at Ryu, taking his ear and pulling him back. He hit the floor loudly. "But, it's infested with—" Orihime almost immediately slapped her hand to her mouth. Lyserg blinked in confusion. The others watched her carefully, looking for a sign as to why she suddenly stopped talking.

"Infested with what?" Yoh asked, moving his hand in a circular motion to gesture her to keep speaking. Orihime's eyes darted to each side, trying to come up with an excuse. The only one that popped up into her head?

"Killer ducks!"

The room was silent as Orihime waited for her answer to settle in. Everyone was thinking the same thing. _Killer ducks? What the hell are killer ducks?_

"O-Oh, well, alright," Lyserg said, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. "I've heard how bad killer…ducks can be…"

"Oh yeah, they get really bad!" Orihime drug on, oblivious to the fact that her story wasn't bought, sold, or taken away on a leash. It just sat there with a half-off sign hanging around its neck. "Sometimes, people die from attacks!"

"Wonderful news, Orihime," Pirika said, shaking her head in shame. "Wonderful news."

**Author's Note: Okay, I think Orihime's still in character. Besides, the girl has the weirdest daydreams, might as well bring some comic relief into it, huh? XD I scared my sister when I mentioned the "fish for dinner" thing. She was momentarily confused! And I couldn't stop laughing when I wrote "killer ducks." XD At any rate, feel free to suggest fights for this. And sorry for the way late update. (XD Rhymage.) But you should get used to it, considering I'm going into high school after next week. I'll try to update as much as I can until school begins again. And how come 1/30 people review, and the other 29 only favorite or subscribe!? I hardly hear anything from people anymore!**


	8. Orihime meets Ren as Anna poses a threat

**Author's Note: Wow, I've gotten multiple requests for Ren and Chocolove's fights. What to do, what to do… Well, I'll just see what happens. :D I've decided to do one more entry fight after this filler chapter. XD Filler chapters are my best friend right now. =3 And they torture people. But I got an idea from a review I recently read. ^.^ Enjoy, peoples.**

Orihime sighed happily, the scalding water covering her lips as she sank lower into it. Her bottom almost slipped off the small bench underneath, and she jerked up, splashing water over the edge. Tamao was beside her, looking nervously around for her animal spirits. The stupid _tanuki_ and_ kitsune_ spirits got their kicks by spying on Tamao and the other girls (and by other girls, that usually consisted of Pirika and the Lily 5, should the girls decide to come over) when they were taking a bath, or naked. Tamao was worried about her allies, even apologizing every so often in case her spirits appeared.

"It's alright, nothing to be worried about," Orihime said, waving her worries away with a simple swish of her hand. "They're probably nothing like the perverts at school. Actually, I've had a girl spy on my from time to time," she added, making Tamao laugh meekly. From the other side of the bamboo fence, a yell and a splash could be heard. Ryu began yelling and the boy that came with Orihime—his name was Ichigo, from what Orihime told them—started yelling his head off as well.

"Y-You're not shamans, are you?" Tamao asked. Orihime blinked, a blank smile on her face.

"A what-man?"

"A shaman." Tamao watched her unchanging expression. "A person who can materialize spirits by using inanimate objects, or embody the spirit themselves and help them finish a task to move on to the next world." Orihime blinked, that same blank smile on her face. Tamao sighed as Pirika slipped into the water, rippling the surface.

"Never mind, Miss Orihime," she said.

"Okay!" Orihime giggled. She really had no clue.

"So, you're here, are you?" Anna came in, joining her company in the bath. "I should've thought so. No one goes to bed at 10:30 at night anymore. Not since the tournament started."

"Ah, Miss Anna! You shouldn't speak of the tournament in front of them!" Tamao fretted.

"Don't worry, I know all about the tournament!" Orihime said. "I'm in it! I passed my entry test a long time ago. Right after Ichigo passed his as well!" Everything was silent for a moment. Anna seemed to inspect the orange-haired woman.

"…How weak," she muttered. Orihime gasped.

"No, no! Ichigo is a wonderful fighter! He's amazing, and wonderful, and his sword is _huge_!" Everything was silent, even on the male's side. Then Horokeu, Ryu, and Yoh began to laugh, and Ichigo then proceeded to drown them. Orihime must've realized what she had done and a cherry-red blush slowly made its way from one cheek, over her nose, and resting on the other side of her face. She shoved herself into the water so that it came up to the bridge of her nose, her lids shut tight. Tamao's hand was reached out, as if the young Ascetic was going to help rid of the embarrassment with a swish of her hand. Lyserg had to make them be quiet, saying something about "waking Ren up."

"Who?" Orihime asked.

"Just a friend who's sleeping," Anna answered, picking up one of her wooden sandals from the door, walking over to the wall, and chunking it harshly over the top. It made a satisfying hollow crack, probably hitting Horokeu in the head. He _was_ the one who cried out. The sandal came back over, just a few inches away from Anna. Having won, she sat calmly back into the water.

"Miss Orihime, you must get out of the water! You'll pass out of you don't! Miss Orihime!?"

"Relax, Tamao," Pirika said. "The woman's still alive." She watched the new girl come out, water dropping off the towels around her, and her hair was still dry, minus that miniscule part of her hairline that had been submerged in water. Anna felt at her torso, hating the small twang of jealousy pinching up in her chest. She was almost the same age as Orihime—or so it seemed—and she was still an A-cup. If only shamanic powers allowed a woman a growth spurt in other places. But alas, it did not, which made for a very pissed off itako.

"Orihime," Anna said, rising from the water and following the busty girl through the chilly air to the locker room. "I need to take some food up to a sick friend of my fiancé's." No way in hell was she going to admit anything friendshippy between her and that spike-headed, pole-up-the-ass shaman who was here just because he was in a bad mood with God and the rest of the people who seemed to be breathing or not. God said "Let him be an ass," and he was.

"Help you with a friend?" Orihime asked. "What does he have?"

"No idea." Anna pulled her pastel _yukata_ around her, tying the cerulean _obi_ tight around her waist. Orihime just pulled on a yellow shirt and blue jeans, her shoes out in the cubby-hole near the front door. "He's just throwing up."

"Ew." Orihime stuck her tongue out. "Okay, I'll help."

She's the kind that doesn't turn _anyone_ down, isn't she? Anna thought to herself. She prepared a small meal and had Orihime carry it up the stairs after her. Anna didn't bother to knock. Instead, she threw the door open loudly, making the body underneath the covers—more like submerged. You could only see the outline of his body, including the weak excuse of a tongari—and kicked it. There was a groan, a sickening gag, and a very pale half-face peeked from underneath the covers. The moan that escaped sounded like a dying animal.

"Fuck, not you," the body murmured.

"You have to eat," Anna ordered.

"What time is it?"

"Nine past midnight." Anna's emotionless, ebony eyes studied him as he pulled himself up, fighting desperately with his gag reflex.

"Midnight? Why not just let me sleep?" he demanded, swaying back and forth.

"Because if you don't eat something, you'll get worse."

"Faust never said…anything about eating." There was a gag in the pause.

"Well, Faust failed to tell you that." The boy gave up and eased himself into the futon, pulling the covers over his head.

"I don't trust you," he said sharply.

"Smart boy." Anna inspected the clothes around him. He had abandoned his pants. "Ren, are you naked under there?"

"FUCK NO!" Ren shot up, turned over, and puked. Orihime grimaced. "Ooh…Stupid woman…"

"Then why're your pants over there?"

"I changed, dammit!" Ren wiped his mouth, spat, and pulled the covers over himself again. "I'm hot under here!"

"Then why don't you take off the stupid covers?" she demanded.

"I don't want to see your ugly face, crow," he shot.

"Um, should I…leave?" Orihime asked, placing the food down near Ren's futon.

"Yes," came an edged reply.

"Be polite. They're guests," Anna snapped.

"Hypocrite."

Everything was silent.

"I'm going to get Faust to give you a shot."

"Why?"

"So you'll go ahead and die!" Anna stormed out. Orihime looked between Ren and Anna. Everything was silent, not even a sound from the cicadas.

"…Are you going to leave already?" Ren asked.

Orihime gasped.

"How did you know I was here?"

"I could feel something…" Ren poked from underneath the futon covers, his eyes glowing. "And it's not furyoku."

Orihime swallowed.

"Um, what do you feel?" she asked.

"Something that seems like furyoku, but at the same time, completely different." His eyes narrowed. "What is it?"

"Um…it's…" Orihime searched for the words when a voice called out her name and Ichigo appeared. Uryu was right behind him.

"Orihime, what're you doing here?" he asked, then looked at the mass of hair and golden eyes peeking from underneath the covers. Ren growled and pulled them back over his head. "And what is that?"

"Something that's going to kick your ass should you choose to keep bugging it." Ichigo's brow twitched as he stepped into the room.

"Uh, you shouldn't bother him!" Orihime suddenly, reaching up to Ichigo. "He's not feeling well!"

"And you're _still in here_!?" Uryu demanded.

"Yes. I was helping Miss Anna, but…" Orihime scratched the back of her head. The boy in the futon growled something unintelligent and flipped over.

"Um, I guess we'll be going," Orihime said, standing up. Ichigo and Uryu nodded, waited for Orihime to exit the room, and Ichigo shut the lattice.

"What do you two think you're doing?" a voice snapped, and all three shot around. Anna was standing by the stairs, her kimono slipping down slightly. "I asked _Orihime_ to bring Ren food. I never said strawberry and bookworm could come up.

"Excuse me!?" Ichigo exclaimed, far too loudly. "Whoever said you could call me a strawberry!?"

"No one." Anna shrugged.

"Then don't call me that!"

"Make me," she challenged.

"Oh, I _will_!!" Ichigo charged at her, but Uryu and Orihime, thinking quickly, grabbed him and did their best to keep him from killing her. Anna watched the orange-haired teen struggle, eyeing his wrist. She walked up, grabbed his collar, and jerked him down to her height.

"Let me tell you something," she spat. "I don't know who you are, where you came from, or whatever it is that lame excuse of furyoku is that you possess. But if you mess up my fiancé's chance of becoming Shaman King after his stupid, power-hungry brother stopped him once, I'll send you to the other side so quickly, you'll lose IQ points. And believe me, sending you to heaven or hell won't be a task for me." Ichigo froze before grinning.

"Sure, okay," he said. "Send me to heaven or hell, I'll just come right back."

"Oh really?" Anna grabbed his throat, making Orihime gasp and release Ichigo. "I have my ways of keeping you where I send you." With a flash and a wave of furyoku washing over the top floor, two strange creatures appeared behind Anna. One blue and one red, the creatures' eyes were in a star-shaped hollowed space on their stomachs. The eyes rolled in their space, staring at Ichigo, the red one carrying an axe.

"What are…?" Uryu breathed.

"Shikigami," Anna answered. "If you keep my Yoh from becoming Shaman King, you're going to have to deal with them." With that, the Shikigami disappeared and Anna released him, walking back downstairs. She was going to be Shaman Queen, no matter what it took.


	9. Strawberry vs Leaf

**Author's Note: Woo! So, I've been talking with my friends at lunch when this little fight scene was born. I'm sorry for not updating for such a long time, but I've been having a lot of trouble with this chapter. Still hope you think it's good. And was I the only one that didn't know Lyserg's name was pronounced "liiserugu"? I was so oblivious until I heard Ryu say it in episode 37, and Wiki-ed it. I always thought it was pronounced the way that they did in the 4Kids dub. I am now off to kill myself as Rika Furude did! :D *is shot***

Yoh was snug in his futon, enjoying the immense warmth of the thick covers. It was long past four in the morning and—even though he'd be far in dreamland by now on any normal night—he was tense and staring up at the ceiling, waiting for his Oracle Pager to start beeping and tell him who to fight. Everything seemed rushed this year. Two days ago Ren got hurt and those others appeared. He had been trying to warn Yoh and the others of Ichigo's group. "They're not shamans," he growled as Faust was changing the bandage around his middle. "Whatever the hell they are, they don't belong here." He was really picky about who was entering the tournament this year. Maybe he was mad about not winning the year before, but he sure wasn't fond of the newcomers. He kept telling Yoh that they weren't shamans every time Yoh mentioned them. Maybe Ren had a point, and not the one on top of his head.

"Wonder why I can't get to sleep," he murmured, holding the Oracle Pager above his head by the strap, looking at the screen intently, as if it would suddenly light up and say "fight this sucker at x place!" Then, Yoh would propel himself out of bed and grab for _Harusame_ and call Spirit of Earth to join him in a fight. But, it was nearly four-fifty in the morning, and Yoh was bored to death. "Maybe Ichigo is awake as well. Anna seemed pissed at something. I'll talk to her tomorrow."

Yoh spaced out, thinking of his brother. The last thing he remembered about him was that Hao had denied the fact that Yoh could ever beat him with the conjoined furyoku of the shamans against him, and the horrified look on his brother's face when brought that sword down, splitting the older Asakura straight in half. There really wasn't any regret in that victory. Yoh didn't regret killing his brother. He did regret the idea of himself murdering another person, but he didn't regret seeing Hao fall. The Patch Village disappeared, and it had been months since the last tournament. Everything seemed to go back to normal, as Manta put it, until the Destiny Star roared across the sky, signaling that the tournament was back on. And suddenly, these weirdos from another town come in and stay. Whatever it was that they possessed wasn't furyoku, and Ren was intent on knowing what it was.

Yoh cried out as the small end of the Oracle Pager slammed against his forehead with a _thunk_! He shook his head and blinked up at the ceiling with an incredulous look, trying to comprehend as to what he had just done. Once it came to him that he had hit himself in the face with his own Oracle Pager, he giggled. It was funny! As he laughed quietly and rubbed his sore head, he heard the alarm on his Oracle Pager. Yoh snatched it up quickly and pressed the button on the side, looking at the screen as it flashed words.

Yoh Asakura…

Your next match will be tomorrow night…

At the Sunshine Building…

Your opponent is…

Ichigo Kurosaki

Yoh made sure he had read the name twice. Yep, it said "Ichigo Kurosaki." He rubbed his eyes, checking for a third time. He was, indeed, fighting the orange-haired teen next door. He heard a small tapping, and shoved the Oracle Pager beneath his pillow, jumping up and tiptoeing to the door. He opened it ever so slightly, looking up into his opponent's bemused face. Ichigo pointed into his room, mouthing "May I come in?" Yoh nodded and backed away, allowing Ichigo to open the door and enter the room, closing it. He laughed quietly.

"Looks like we're fighting," he whispered. Yoh nodded.

"Yeah. I bet you'll be a good opponent," Yoh complemented, making Ichigo's face brighten. "I can tell that whatever it is you use to power your Over Soul…well, whatever it is, you have a lot of it."

"Furyoku?" Ichigo's brow rose, as well as Yoh's.

"Yeah. Furyoku. You know what furyoku is, right?"

"No, not really." Ichigo shook his head.

"It's the count of power a shaman has. The higher the count, the more you have, and the stronger you are." Yoh grinned. "As of now, I think I'm the strongest. Then there's Horo, Ren, Lyserg, and Chocolove. Or maybe Lyserg's before Ren, but I know Ren's somewhere in the middle…"

"Not to seem rude or anything, Yoh… But I don't care about which one of you's the strongest. I just wanted to talk about the fight tomorrow." Ichigo grinned. "And whatever you call that shaman power thing… We call it _reiatsu_."

"'Rayatsew'? Well, if that's what you go with." Yoh chuckled to himself, his hair tickling his nose. It twitched before he sneezed loudly and falling back, the covers rising into the air. Ichigo and he snorted, then burst into a muted fit of laughter, holding their middles. Yoh wiped away at a tear in the corner of his eye as Ichigo covered half of his lit up face with a hot palm, sighing from the pain of his diaphragm.

"I think this visit's going to be fun…"

"Yeah." Yoh beamed. "You might wanna get back to your room. If Anna found out we were talking when we're supposed to be fighting, she'd kill us." Yoh stood and scooted behind Ichigo, looking out the lattice to make sure Anna hadn't walked in. She was probably tuckered out from "taking care of" her guests. She normally wasn't such heavy sleeper. In fact, she'd have normally been there before the very first beep.

"Yeah, I understand…" Ichigo laughed nervously, thinking of what the girl named Anna had said to him earlier. Those things…what was it she called them…? Shikigami… Yeah, that was it. Those things scared the shit out of him. The one with the axe was the worst, and the positions of their eyes… Ichigo shivered from the thought of what would happen. "Well, see you in the morning." Ichigo waved before moving across the floor with such agility that made Yoh think he was a male ballerina. Wouldn't that be interesting? Yoh giggled to himself as he imagined an orange-haired boy in Spandex before disappearing into his room. Ichigo would kill him if he knew what image just went into his mind.

Yoh escaped beneath his futon, pulling the thick covers over himself. He made sure to take the Oracle Pager from underneath his pillow before he put his head on it. The screen still flashed with Ichigo Kurosaki still on it. Maybe he'd be an easy opponent. If he didn't win, Anna would have a reason to go to jail, wouldn't she?

**Next night**

Yoh had somehow convinced Anna that he was just going to go out for a jog, and made it to the Sunshine Building without being followed. At least, he hoped he wasn't being followed by anyone other than Ichigo. The orange head was marveling at the height of the Sunshine building, saying "Dammit, that's a huge building! We don't have anything as big as that at Karakura! Man, Tokyo's amazing…" He grinned.

"Ichigo, you idiot!" Uryu shouted to his friend. "How can you just stand there and gawk at a big building!? Your opponent is just standing there in front of you! Don't sight-see!"

"Well I'm _sorry_ if you can't appreciate architecture!"

"I _do_ appreciate it, but I also know _when_ to appreciate it! Idiot…"

"I heard that!"

"You were supposed to!"

"Can we just start? If I don't get started, Anna's going to get suspicious."

"She should be, Yoh." The younger Asakura yelped and whipped around. Lyserg smiled at his friend, his arms folded across his chest, a black jacket covering from his neck to his waist. A green plaid scarf was wrapped around his neck and resting on his shoulders. "You're going for a jog at _midnight_? Of course she'd be suspicious."

"L-Lyserg!" Yoh placed a hand on his heart. "Don't do that to me! I thought Anna had come!"

"Are you saying I sound like Anna?"

"N-Not at all!" Yoh laughed nervously. "All I'm saying is that I'm kinda…paranoid because of the sneaking out."

"Okay."

A wave of _reiatsu_ washed over the two shamans, perking them up. Yoh turned back to his opponent, who was now dressed in black _kimono_ and _hakama_. He had a large, sharp-edged sword was being balanced on his shoulders, a big grin plastered onto his face. He laughed.

"What's with that face, Yoh?" Ichigo demanded. "You need to get ready to start fighting!" Yoh jerked his head down to the Oracle Pager wrapped snugly around his wrist. The screen began counting down. He chuckled.

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Yoh said, unwrapping _Harusame_ and calling Spirit of Earth to his side. The spirit balled up in his palm, ready for _Hyoii Gattai_. "So, how are you going about fighting without a spirit?" Ichigo gritted his teeth together.

"I-It's already in my sword!" he lied, gesturing to the big-ass blade upon his shoulders. "I just have to activate my _reiatsu_ when I'm ready to go!"

"Ah, okay!" Yoh grinned, listening to the slow countdown to the fight. Lyserg carefully examined Ichigo's sword, which Uryu caught the young shaman doing. A small weasel was wound around his left arm, glowing and giving off a certain heat. A pink, poppy-seed fairy was resting on his shoulder, giving Ichigo an intense glare as well. Uryu brought his brow together. He could tell by the gleam in Lyserg's eyes that he knew Ichigo was lying about his sword, and that he might not even have a spirit ally after all. Lyserg's eyes shot over to Uryu, who jumped and averted his gaze.

"Is something wrong, Uryu?" Orihime asked, feeling her friend tense up.

"No, Orihime," he answered with a tight voice. "I-It's nothing."

"If you say so…" She then turned over to watch Ichigo's fight as the boys crouched. Lyserg rushed away from the scene, expecting a big fight to break out. Orihime and Uryu exchanged looks before following suit just as the beeping stopped and Yoh and Ichigo clashed. _Reiatsu_ and furyoku met in a powerful wave and the two fighters pushed each other back, sliding against the pavement. Ichigo drug his foot back behind him and propelled himself forward, bringing down his sword onto Yoh. The young shaman's eyes widened, but his lips pulled back into a smirk. Ichigo gasped as _Zangetsu_ met with a metal plate that morphed in front of Yoh, who simply smiled as the plate disappeared, giving Yoh the advantage. He pulled _Harusame_—the head of his swan-like Over Soul—back and lashed out, splitting Ichigo's _kimono_ and throwing him backwards. He fell against the concrete, looking up. Yoh's Over Soul was amazing. Ichigo breathed heavily in marvel.

"That's so cool-looking," he complimented. Yoh chuckled.

"You think so?"

"Yeah! It's awesome!"

"I'm glad you like it. Here I go!"

Yoh shot forward, clashing with _Zangetsu_, and Ichigo parried, swinging his sword in attacks against Yoh's Over Soul. Yoh simply formed the metallic plates that stopped him before and tried his best to crush them. Yoh was as swift as he was lazy, and he had already hit Ichigo five times by the time the match had lasted ten minutes. Ichigo was kneeling on the ground, panting, while Yoh stood strong and proud, panting, but not as heavily.

"Ready to give up?" Yoh asked with a grin. "I'll totally understand if you want to."

_**Ichigo~!**_

_Oh hell no,_ Ichigo thought bitterly. He could vaguely see the image of his Hollow smirking at him. _No way in hell am I letting you take control!_

It was too late. Ichigo could feel a slow insanity crawl up his spine. A spark of energy coursed through his veins and the white of his eyes covered over as black. Yoh's face contorted from confusion, to shock, and then to utter horror as a maniacal laughter broke from Ichigo's tightly clamped lips and he threw his head back, his mouth wide open in laughter. Yoh backed away, his arms spread slightly at his sides, ready to guard himself. Ichigoflung his head forward, his shoulder pushed together, and then looked up, the mask covering the left side of his face, leaving it up to Yoh to guess what the other half of his insane expression looked like. Ichigo was next to Yoh in two seconds, the shaman totally unaware of the movement until his eyes widened. Ichigo grabbed Yoh by his throat and slammed him against the ground, repeating the episode of what happened with Rutherford two nights before. Yoh groaned loudly, his Over Soul disengaging from shock, as he was slammed against the side of the concrete building. Hichigo belted out a laugh and slammed his fist multiple times into Yoh's middle. Each time Yoh was hit he coughed out just a little blood. Lyserg jumped to react until Ichigo dropped his sword and grabbed the mask, ripping it off with a painful grunt. Yoh stared at him with wide eyes as he was dropped from the wall. His legs didn't support him, and he fell onto his knees. Once Ichigo's consciousness took over, he looked down at his shocked opponent, jumping when he didn't move.

"Yoh!?" he gasped, falling down beside him. "Yoh!" He could see bruises in the shape of his fingers beginning to turn purple around the younger boy's neck. "Oh shit…"

Yoh blinked and jumped away, his eyes wide. His arm was raised up in front of his chest in case he needed to protect himself. Orihime and Uryu gave each other worried looks and watched as Ichigo tried to calm Yoh down. Yoh took a step back every time he advanced. Lyserg ran over, placed his hands on Yoh's shoulders, blocking his view of Ichigo, and shook him. After a few back and forth shakes, Yoh blinked and returned to normal. Lyserg could tell Yoh's heart was pounding from the vibrating of his shirt.

"Yoh, are you alright?" he asked. Yoh's pale face soon regained color and he just laughed.

"Yeah, I-I'm okay," he managed to get out. "Huh? Aw _maaan_! Anna's going to kill me!"

"Phew…" Ichigo ran his hand through his orange locks and came over to a now calmer Yoh. He was still jumpy from the sudden Hollowfication. "Hey, are you alright now?"

"Mm-hm!" Yoh hummed. "What was that?"

"What was what?" Ichigo asked.

"That thing with the mask? It was cool! Kinda creepy, but cool!" he said. When Ichigo blushed and turned towards his Oracle Pager to see he had won the match, Yoh and Lyserg's expressions changed. Both stared at the orange head and his friends as they celebrated before looking at each other.

"Ren's right," Lyserg murmured. "They're not shamans. Whatever they are, they don't belong in this tournament."

"Yeah," Yoh agreed, nodding and sheathing _Harusame_. "And that thing he just did…" Yoh felt at his sore, bruised neck. "That was just plain weird."

"Do you know what they use to power their…whatever they have?"

"_Reiatsu_," Yoh answered, faking a friendly smile when Ichigo turned and flashed him a thumbs up. "And I have a feeling their _reiatsu_ is nothing like our furyoku."

**Author's Note: Thank you sister for mentioning Ichigo going Hollow! I apologize for kicking Yoh's ass in this chapter. But our entire group agreed Ichigo could kick Yoh across the street in a fight. But the Substitute Shinigami has **_**nothing**_** on Faust! That Necromancer could dissect him in two seconds!!**


	10. The King of Fire Makes His Stand

**Author's Note: I apologize for practically abandoning this story. But, like I think I have said earlier--if I didn't I should have---I'm in a position where I can't write as much as I like, so please just bear with me. The support I'm getting from peoples are helping me and things seem to be getting better at home. Oh, and the Holy King of Hell is making his grand entrance against the Soul Reapers in this chapter. Again, I apologize for abandoning this for two months.   
**

Toshiro Hitsugaya just couldn't take it anymore. A series of trains to Tokyo was what Rangiku and Momo had forced him to endure. They just couldn't use a _senkaimon_, oh no! They both just _had_ to take trains. _Four_ trains actually, in case anyone wanted to know. The white-haired captain was nearly bored out of his mind. While the women were talking anything that related to clothes, make-up, and food, Toshiro's mind was traveling more into the subject of why every Soul Reaper in the Seireitei just dropped what they were doing to go off and join a tournament that had absolutely nothing to do with them and why they weren't trying to defend themselves against Aizen.

Speaking of Aizen, did the man just shrivel up and die? The Hollow attacks and Arrancar appearances just suddenly stopped. Hollows were appearing less often to not at all, and the Arrancars just quit cold turkey. Gin and Kaname hadn't come out of their holes either, and the youngest captain was too anxious to be sitting in a train, on the way to Tokyo, to join a tournament he'd be better off staying out of.

"Come on, captain, lighten up!" Rangiku said, breaking his somber thoughts. "This is the _Shaman Tournament_. This means we can get a break off of paperwork and relax, kick some ass, and have a good time! ...Tell him I said no thanks," she added, turning down the fifth drink. "I don't accept charity."

"But it's a _free_ drink, Rangiku," Momo pointed out. "You love drinking."

"Not when it's from perverted men that I don't know. I only drink with the captain and other Soul Reapers. I remember the last time I drank with the captain..."

"Matsumoto..."

"He started _taking his robes off_!"

"_That's enough, Matsumoto_!"

"Oh come on, captain, I'm sure Hinamori would _love_ to see you drunk."

"I'll kick your ass," he threatened, slipping Hyorinmaru from the sheath. When a male attendant walked by, the young captain quickly stashed it back and fixated his attention to the lowering sun outside his window. "One hundred and eighty-six miles an hour isn't fast enough," he griped. "If we used _Shunpo_, we'd be there in two minutes."

"_Then_ you'd complain of your feet hurting." Momo rolled her eyes. "Besides, we got our Oracle Pagers, didn't we?" Momo held up the light red pager sitting in her lap. Toshiro moved his arm around to look at the deep cerulean sitting on his lap. He didn't have a clue as to how to work the thing. Turning it on or off was beyond him, though Momo and Rangiku seemed to find out how. "Those Patch were pretty tough to take on. I wonder if the tournament will be as hard."

"I hope not. The Patch I fought was too easy. I'd get bored."

The train began to slow down as they entered a small tunnel, and the metallic wheels screeched in protest, still wanting to move, as they train slowly came to a stop inside t tunnel. Toshiro, after being scolded harshly by Matsumoto, swallowed his complaints, now that they were in Tokyo, and stood with Rangiku and Momo and exited the train once the doors opened. He stretched his arms and legs as if he was trying to make himself get taller and sighed audibly. Momo giggled. Rangiku did the same, earning more than her fair share of stares, and sighed happily.

"Alright! We're finally in Tokyo!" she exclaimed as they came out upon the streets. A woman walked by, her little rat of a dog poking its head out of her purse to bark at Toshiro and his group. The woman jumped and petted his head, pushing him back down into the bag. "Time to hit all the local bars and get hammered!" Toshiro dead-legged her, making the woman stumble. Momo rushed to help Rangiku keep her balance.

"No drinking!" he snapped. "We are to conserve the money we were given for food and shelter only. Once we get to the Patch Village, you can spend mindlessly." Rangiku rubbed the skin behind her knee and scowled.

"Ow! No need to kick me!"

"Let's find a place to eat first." Toshiro shoved his hands in his pockets. "You can have only three drinks."

"_Three_!?"

"Do I have to repeat myself? Very well: three drinks."

"Captaaaaaiiin!!"

"Complain, and I won't let you drink at all." The young captain began to walk towards a yakisoba stand. Rangiku gaped at him, but Momo placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Maybe you could accept a few drinks this time, Rangiku?" she suggested. Rangiku bit the inside of her lip, grabbed Hinamori's hand, and jogged off to join the captain.

"One or two," she agreed.

The trio walked around for what seemed to them like an eternity, when in reality it was only about an hour and a half before they could find a less crowded restaurant and settled down. Rangiku ordered a glass of wine and Momo and Toshiro settled with tea. The evening started out rocky when a waitress handed Toshiro a kid's menu and crayons. Rangiku explained he was fifteen (in her story), and the woman swapped them out with a regular menu. Toshiro now hated Tokyo even more, and decided he'd never ever return. The waitress wasn't going to get such a good tip, said Toshiro. Hinamori simply laughed and sipped at her tea. Rangiku accepted a drink from a man sitting nearby, who somehow thought the the martini he bought for her was an invitation to her table. As he placed himself beside her and put his arm around her, she snuck a "help me!" glance at her companions. Toshiro flashed Hyorinmaru, but Momo shook her head. The group's attention suddenly changed when a beeping sound echoed around the restaurant. Momo jumped and held her arm up. She beamed.

"It's a fight! A fight!" she squealed. "Yay!" Rangiku threw the man's arm--and him--to the side and leaned over across the table.

"Who is it?" she asked.

"I don't know. The stupid message won't o-- Oh, here it is." She cocked her brow and titled her head to the side. "...I can't pronounce that first part."

"Then say his last name!" Rangiku exclaimed. Toshiro leaned over Momo's shoulder.

"...'Asa...kura'?" she guessed. Toshiro examined it.

"Yeah, it's Asakura. What a weird name," he added. Momo scowled.

"Hitsugaya isn't a common name either!"

"Oh shut up!"

As the group fought, a body in the back corner was examining them, a large grin on his face as the temperature dropped the angrier Toshiro got. The waitress had to turn the heat up. He crossed his legs and sipped at the black coffee in front of him, placing his hand on the bottom so that the cup balanced in his palm, and the lukewarm liquid began to steam and bubble.

**(After the scene at the restaurant)**

Toshiro sifted through the money provided by the Soul Society and pulled out money to pay for their dinner. Rangiku had had about four drinks and wasn't quite hammered just yet. But she was close. Her giggle fits had started up. Toshiro was ready to just send her ass back to the Seireitei, but Momo reassured him that it wasn't all too bad. She's stop in about an hour. ...Maybe.

"I couldn't care less when she stops, I just want her to shut the hell up!" he complained.

"There you are..._hic_...griping again captain!" Rangiku teased, blush coloring her cheeks.

"...You're right, she's becoming annoying," Momo said as the older woman pulled her into a suffocating hug, courtesy of the woman's huge breasts. "She gets a little clingy when she's drunk."

"A little?"

"Okay, maybe a lot. She's very clingy."

Toshiro was trying to pry Rangiku's arms from around his neck before a small laugh was heard behind him. Momo and he turned around, seeing a boy with long, chocolate brown hair standing a few inches away. He had onyx eyes and was wearing a white dress shirt, complete with black pants and dress shoes. A small, gold orb was floating aimlessly around his left shoulder. His hand was inconspicuously placed near his mouth. He was beaming at them, but in a sort of teasing light. He cleared his throat.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to laugh," he said in a smooth voice. "It's just that, seeing you, I can't take Soul Reapers seriously. You guys are such..." The boy took a deep breath, the light in his eyes slowly fading, and his smile turned into more of a frown. "..._posers_." He grinned as Toshiro reached for Hyorinmaru, which was slung over his shoulder in a baldric. Rangiku snapped her hand out, grabbing his wrist. Toshiro looked behind him at her, surprised to see her looking seriously at the newcomer. He laughed again.

"See? You Soul Reapers are too violent. Any sign of danger and your swords unsheathe themselves." The golden spirit bobbed up and down, as if mocking them as well. "As for us shamans... We usually only bring out our weapons if someone else attacks, and we put ghosts to good use. You just let them run around free. That's wasteful." The boy shook his finger like a mother scolding her child.

"You're in the tournament, aren't you?" Rangiku asked, stepping in front of her captain. The boy cocked a brow, interest sparking in his eyes. "Just what do you want?"

"A few things," he admitted, shifting his weight. "For one, I just wanted to meet my opponent, in case they might be a challenge for me." His eyes shot over to Momo, who jumped under his gaze. "I know it won't be a challenge now."

"Hey! You take that back!" Momo shrieked. "I'm a good fighter!!" The boy shook his head, his eyes closed in comic relief.

"And the second thing I want is _you_, Toshiro Hitsugaya," he said. Toshiro jumped back. "I know that you have an overwhelmingly large amount of spirit energy. And I'd like to put it to good use." Toshiro stepped back, unconsciously pressing himself against Rangiku.

"W-What would you do?" he stammered. The boy smiled and pointed with his head to the people around them.

"See these humans? They're destroying what the Lord gave them. Pollution, poaching, cutting down trees... They're taking the planet for granted, not to mention they're killing their own kind. I'm tired of seeing such cold, soulless people walking around everywhere I go." The boy's voice became gruff as he spoke and any friendliness he showed before was gone now. His eyes could practically melt anything if he wished so. "So I've decided that when _I_ become Shaman King, I'll rid this world of humans and allow only Shamans to roam the earth. Soul Reapers will be allowed as well, but only if you agree to help me." The boy held his hand out.

"KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!" Toshiro broke from his gaze and jerked his head to his right where a woman's husband or boyfriend was lying down on his side, his eyes clouded but open in shock, as a Hollow was eating his soul. The woman screamed, but her voice was cut off as the Hollow ripped out her soul and devoured it. Toshiro began to move, but a small block of fire made him jump back.

"Answer me, Toshiro Hitsugaya," the boy growled. "I want you to tell me if you'll join me or not. If you won't, you'll pay dearly. _Very _dearly..." The boy's eyes shined with a menacing fire like Toshiro had never seen. His legs began shaking. "Will you help me rid the world of it's lethal parasites, or will you help them? Your choice." He watched their movements carefully. Toshiro clenched his fists, pulled out a container of Soul Candy and bit the pill into small bits, shooting out of his body and slicing the mask of the Hollow clean into two parts. The boy sighed heavily, defeated, and shook his head in shame. The soul possessing Toshiro looked around, confused, but stilled as the golden orb took the form of a lion and ripped it out, devouring it whole, smacking and licking its lips. Rangiku gagged and Hinamori covered her mouth. Toshiro entered his body once again before it hit the ground, a pain forming in his stomach, and he scowled at the boy. He cocked his head back.

"My name is pronounced 'how' Asakura, bitch," he spat. "Next time we meet, I won't be as merciful." Hao whipped around, his hair billowing out as he stepped over the disappearing body of the Hollow, and the flames dissipated. The couple plus one lay dead on the ground, their eyes dimmed and emotionless from their souls being eaten. Toshiro stared at the spirit beside Hao, now in its dormant state, with wide, shocked eyes. Could that thing have something to do with the seldom number of Hollow attacks? Whatever it was, it made his legs weak, and he clung to Matsumoto's arm for support until the trio was capable of checking into a hotel for the night.


	11. I Pray the Lord My Soul to Take

**Author's Note: Momo lovers should probably look away.**

Hinamori sat on her and Rangiku's bed, staring at her hands in a daze, still trying to take in what had just happened on the street not even an hour ago. Rangiku was already curled up on the other side asleep, dreaming peacefully about a morning where she could get hammered and _not_ wake up with a headache. That guy, "Hao," had scared even Toshiro, and her entire body was now rippling with nervous spasms. Her legs were weak like jelly and her hands shook as if she was having a stroke; nothing she held in her hands would be still. The glass of water she tried to drink earlier splashed over from her nerves and she placed it down, where it sat in a pool of its contents. The mahogany dresser would have a pretty big ring on it if she didn't wipe it up soon, but she was too scared to even stand. So, she sat trembling on the bed as she listened to the shower running in the bathroom behind them, hoping Toshiro would come out soon so that she wouldn't go insane. But inside the bathroom, Toshiro, too, was thinking over what had happened as well. In fact, he was thinking of the offer Hao had made him.

_"So I've decided that when __I_ become Shaman King, I'll rid this world of humans and allow only Shamans to roam the earth. Soul Reapers will be allowed as well, but only if you agree to help me." Though he hated to admit it, he half-agreed, half-disagreed with Hao's ideals. There was some--and by some, that meant very little and hard to spot--logic behind his reasoning; for one, humans _did_ take the world that they were given for granted: polluting it, destroying it, disgracing the very definition of creation...and humans do tend to murder and rape each other, threatening their own species to extinction. Teenagers would enter the Seireitei, having died from labor, and the baby in their arms. Teenagers, adults, even young children would come, killed by a neighbor or parent or sibling. "Humans...," Toshiro murmured, "are truly monstrous creations."

**(At the site of the fight)**

Hinamori, Rangiku, and Toshiro all stood at the dock, waiting anxiously with pits in their stomachs for Hao to appear. Momo gripped her sword tightly, her eyes darting around in search of the shaman who would be her opponent. Rangiku, having somehow forgotten the night before, was complaining that the night air was cold, she was tired and hungry and wanted a drink. Toshiro, being strict with the money, told her she would have to deal with it and when Momo won, they'd go out. Of course, Rangiku was trying to steal the money pouch from her captain. He, of course, was somehow capable of dodging her lunges. Momo was too nervous to pay attention to them, but the tomfoolery of Division 10 immediately ceased as he appeared, clothed in a cream colored poncho and crimson pants decorated in gold and silver stars, with gloves and shoes that would remind any child of _Legos_. Rangiku's hunger somehow disappeared and her brow came together. She came up behind Momo and placed her hand on Momo's shoulder, bending down to the young vice-captain's height and whispering, "It's best you give up the fight, Hinamori. He doesn't look like the easy type of opponent. Live to fight another day."

"No!" Momo argued. "I won't! I want to prove to Toshiro I can fight! I want to be useful to him!"

"There's no usefullness in being dead, Hinamori." But as he came closer, pulling his gloves tighter, Rangiku was overwhelmed by his furyoku, and backed away quickly. He smiled cordially at Hinamori, clenching his fist.

"If you wish to stop while you're over your head, Miss Hinamori, I wouldn't blame you," he said. He looked over her shoulder to Toshiro, who froze like ice. "My offer still stands, Toshiro Hitsugaya. If you would like to take more time to thi--"

"Take that offer and shove it up your ass, Hao!" Toshiro spat. "I would _never_ join your cause, even if there is the tiniest hint of logic behind it!" He glared viciously at the shaman. Hao cocked his brow, the smile fading, and he shook his head. The Oracle Pagers began to count down to the fight.

"So sad," he murmured, the two locks of hair in front of his face blocking view of his eyes. "And here I was, willing to go easy on your friend." Hao lashed his hand out and grabbed Hinamori's throat, pulling her off the ground. The Pagers' beeping became louder. "Now, I'll have to punish her." Hao flicked his wrist and Hinamori slammed into one of the warehouses lining the shore. She gasped as her frame dented the metal of the walls, her sword dropping from her hand. Flames circled around her and Hao morphed from thin air, jabbing his hand into her middle. Hinamori screamed in agony.

"MOMO!!" Toshiro bellowed, making a run for her. Rangiku quickly grabbed his wrist, pulling him back. He turned back to her, eyes wide, jerking to get out of her grip, but Rangiku just stared at the battle, her hand clenched tightly around her captain's arm. Toshiro turned back to the fight, watching helplessly as Hao pulled a blood-covered hand from her middle. He jumped back as she fell to her knees, gripping the wound tightly, laboring her breathing. She struggled to her knees, raising her sword to point to Hao. He laughed.

"Don't point that _toy_ at me," he said, the flames turning white. "How disgraceful. You stupid little twit. I ought to kill you." He jerked his hands open, flames engulfing both. He stalked over to Hinamori, who stood her ground with her sword pointed straight at him. He spat and grabbed the blade tight enough to melt the metal, which poured onto the already bubbling concrete below like water from a cup. He cooled off one of his hands and slammed it straight into her wound, twisting his fist so that the skin tore and the blood oozed down her legs. Hinamori tried to pull away, but his other hand--releasing the melted blade--grabbed her kimono and pulled her close to him.

"Soul Reapers... They're such pests. Now listen, little girl, and I might spare your life. Are your ears open?" he purred. When she glared down at him, he smiled. "Oh good, you're looking at me. Well, here's what I want you to do. If you can walk over this slime to your little friend Toshiro and convince him to join me, I'll let you go scott-free. Hell, I might even let you _win_ this round. But that's only if he agrees."

Hao's eyes opened in shock as something punctured his middle. He looked down to find the sharp, heated point of the blade that he had shaped while melting the metal was sticking in his side, and dark red blood began to wet his belt and pour from the wound. He looked at the gash like it was a paper cut and his onyx-black eyes were now lit with an angry flame. Momo choked and coughed. Blood was beginning to clog in her throat. "T-Toshiro...would _never_...join you...," she managed to sputter. She gasped and gurgled as Hao's hand grabbed her throat and he yanked out the sword.

"Now, that just won't do," Hao said, shaking his head. "Ah well..." Hao's eyes flashed and Momo's body burst into flames. She screamed and Rangiku's strength faltered, allowing Toshiro to jerk away and run towards Hao. The flames began to disappear with Hinamori's voice, and the Great Spirit took on the lion-like form, licking its lips as a small, pink-colored orb blobbed in Hao's hand. He tossed it up a few times, turned towards Toshiro, and in seconds the captain's left arm burned as his friend had. Toshiro immediately fell to the hot pavement, trying to put out the flames as it began to bleed, and covered it with a thick layer of ice. Hao handed the blob to the lion, which gladly consumed it, and came over to Toshiro, grabbing handfuls of his hair and yanking his head up to look at him. Toshiro winced.

"You wouldn't join me, Hitsugaya, and this was your punishment," he said lightly. "If you had joined me, I would've spared her. I even offered to let her win. Poor girl had it coming." Hao sighed. "I let you live, Toshiro Hitsugaya, do _not_ forget that. I let you live so you could fight me or join me. Those are now your only two choices. Good luck, Soul Reaper. You'll need it to stay alive."

**(At Funbari Onsen)**

The static that swept through the building was, no doubt, a hot and heavy pressure. Every shaman in the room was frozen, even Ren, now healed from his wounds, was shaking with the others in shock. The Ichigo, Orihime, Uryu, and Chad all were confused and scared. Their body temperatures heated up and a small pit formed in their stomachs. Yoh put his food down, unable to eat, and Anna eyes him curiously.

"Was that...?" Chocolove started, and Lyserg swallowed what he had chewed, nodding.

"It seemed like it," Horokeu said, turning to look at his friends, ignoring the guests, "but I'm not too sure."

"There's nothing to be 'sure' about, Horo," Ren spat, clenching his fists to calm his nerves. "There is no doubt among us who it is."

"Who?" Orihime asked. Faust and Ryu exchanged nervous glances and Manta looked at Yoh.

"Someone you wouldn't want to mess with," Anna answered, standing so that she could look down on everyone. "It would be smart of all of you to leave this place and go back to whatever hole you climbed out of. Quit the tournament and call it a night. Take a bath and sleep it off. But it seems that the tournament has just gotten harder."

"But Yoh, I thought you killed him," Ryu pointed out as Anna left the room, unwrapping the beads from her neck.

"So did I, Ryu, so did I." Yoh heard the front door open and a woman from outside scream, "You have to help me! Please, he's been hurt!"


	12. New Friends and Old Allies

**Author's Note: Okay, um, I think I need to clear some things up for people, since someone left a review showing me that they cannot read. This fiction is post-ANIME. A-NI-ME. NOT manga. In the anime, Hao did NOT become Shaman King! He force-fed SOF to the GS so they would merge. In the manga, he DID become Shaman King by forfeit. Okay, is THAT clear enough? If not, I can explain in more detail. Even in the SUMARY it says that this is POST-ANIME. I just added in the Elemental Spirits for a fun twist! Hao is NOT stupid, he's just power-hungry. There, make sense now? If you're confused, read the newest review I've gotten. That just pissed me off that some people don't take the time to read.**

**Also, I'm having trouble choosing a pairing: RenxHoro or RenxJeanne. Please say which one you want in the story in your review (if you even bother). Both are technically canon.**

Faust was fast away at work, stitching up the burnt nerves and skin tissue of his newest patient while his friend—or girlfriend, he couldn't tell—was downstairs with the other, pouring her eyes out. Ryu was hanging back away from her, trying not to be a pig in her moment of distress, and Ichigo and the others were trying to coax the story of what happened out of her. The shamans could make out some of what she was saying, just in bits and pieces, but one they _all_ could hear was "Hao," and that's all they needed to hear. Yoh laced the pieces together, and came up with the story that one of her friends had been scheduled a fight with Hao, lost, and paid with her life and soul. Her other friend—the one Faust was patching up at the moment—had been angry and, blinded by his fury, charged Hao, ending up the way he is now. The woman, called Rangiku by the others, nodded as Yoh told what happened. He, Horokeu, Ren, Lyserg, Ryu, and Chocolove all exchanged glances. Anna was silently drinking her tea. She wouldn't ever admit it to the others for fear of embarrassment, but she felt truly sorry of Rangiku. She knew that if one of her friends—reluctantly, Ren included—was killed and Yoh hurt like her friend upstairs, Anna would most likely be in the same position she was: on her knees crying to her remaining friends and in front of strangers.

"I-Is it okay if she stays here, Miss Anna?" Orihime asked weakly, her eyes shining. The others looked at Anna. The Itako had now opened her eyes and was looking at the sad group. Yoh could see pity in them. "We can pay for her as well! And the medical bill, maybe…"

"Forget it," Anna said, waving it away with her hand. "There's no need to worry about expenses right now. Just give her a room and let her sleep it off. She'll feel better in the morning." Anna closed her eyes again and sipped from her tea. All of the shamans perked up, surprised that there wasn't an 80% increase on their fee. Orihime's lips pulled into a big grin and she jumped up, pulling Rangiku to her feet.

"Come on, Rangiku. Let's go get you into a nice, warm bed. You look extremely tired." Orihime was trying to be nice, everyone could tell, but Rangiku ripped away violently.

"I'm not doing _anything_ until I see if Toshiro's okay!" she screeched. "When he's okay, I'll sleep!" Rangiku plunked herself back down at the end of the table and folded her hands in her lap, sniffing and blinking back tears. There was an awkward silence, and Ren—feeling uncomfortable with a crying woman in the room—excused himself by saying he was tired and wanted sleep, and went to turn in. Horokeu excused himself as well, and the two men rushed out of the room.

There, with two missing, the group sat in silence, not a word spoken in case the silence shattering would cause Rangiku to burst into tears again. The TV was turned on low volume as Ryu and Lyserg both watched in silence, not chuckling when the audience on the show laughed. Yoh slipped one of the speakers on his headphones onto his ears and listened to music while also listening for Faust to come down and give them the good or bad news. Anna sipped her tea and Manta was reading his dictionary, editing some of his entries, which he would have to alphabetize later. Tamao couldn't take the silence and left to the kitchen to brew more tea, which Anna was drinking down at an alarming rate. But finally, feet descended the stairs and everyone rose from their seats to see Faust walk in. He looked tired—his bags darker than usual—and his hair unkempt. Eliza's skull was resting in his hands gently, and he sighed.

"Well, he's out of the danger zone for now," he said, and everyone in the room sighed. "His arm finally stopped bleeding and I was able to reconnect tissue and nerves that were cindered beyond human medical repair. Of course, if something were to happen to him tonight, the bleeding could start again." He could see Rangiku tense up and take in a sharp breath, to which he added, "But don't worry, I intend to stay up to make sure nothing happens. Though, I can't guarantee that his flesh won't scar."

"As long as he's fine," Rangiku said, like she was the one who was out of breath, "I couldn't care less about his appearance." She stood and bowed low. Too low, apparently, because Ryu's gaze quickly shifted _waay_ to the other side of the room. "Thank you very much for taking care of my captain. I'm so sorry to have burdened you like this. And, where could I get a place to sleep?"

"I can show you! You can bunk with me!" Orihime to the rescue! She jumped up and wrapped her arm around Rangiku's, pulling her towards the stairs. Yoh looked at his fiancée, noticing her missing accessory.

"Anna, where are your beads?" he asked. She sighed.

"I've decided that it's time for some old friends of ours to come back. Tell Ren in the morning to come out to the cemetery after breakfast. I have a surprise for him, Ryu, Chocolove, and _you_." With that, she stood, quickly waltzing out of the room just as Tamao returned with a hot pot of freshly brewed tea. Yoh raised his cup and grinned, to which she quickly poured him some.

**(In the morning)**

Rangiku woke up later than the others, rubbing her eyes, and holding onto the rail so she wouldn't fall. She peeked into the living room to find a very tired doctor already passed out and a small blanket placed over his curled form. Orihime was lightly playing with his blond hair, giggling as she did. She saw Rangiku and sat up quickly, giving her a look. Rangiku smiled.

"How is he?" she asked. Faust stirred, but didn't wake.

"Faust says he's alright. In fact, he says Toshiro regained consciousness! But he's in a lot of pain right now." Orihime's expressions were like a roller coaster, up, high, then plummeting down. Rangiku nodded. Of course he'd be in pain. He had the hell burned out of his arm. She turned, fully awake, and started up the stairs.

"I'll…I'll just peek in on him," she explained. Ichigo, Chad, and Uryu turned to look at her. "I won't do anything, I promise." She practically ran up the stairs and looked through all the rooms until she found it. Its walls and floor was bare except for the hospital bed near the window on the opposite wall and a bag of anesthetic was attached to his wrist, which was bandaged tightly. Her captain was looking out the window, in a daze, until she walked in. His head whipped around.

"M-Matsumoto?" he asked. His voice was hoarse and strained, like his throat was dry and he was trying not to cry. "Where are we?" His voice cracked and he coughed to cover it up. Tears gathered at her eyes and she beamed, even as they streamed down her cheeks.

"I'm so glad you're awake, captain," she sobbed happily. "I would throw my arms around you in such a 'ludicrous fashion,' but you must be hurting." Toshiro smiled and turned himself around, a small smile pulling his lips up at the ends.

"Just this once," he said softly, "I think I can permit it. Just don't squeeze me in half; that's an order." Rangiku sniffed and nodded, rushing over and pulling him close to her, crying all over his shoulder and neck.

"Y-Yes sir!!" she said.

**(Funbari Cemetery)**

Yoh, Chocolove, Ryu, and Ren scaled the large staircase that led up to the shrine. Ren shuddered, having bad flashbacks of his first round. His stomach began to tingle, like he'd done something wrong and someone knew about it. Yoh asked if he was okay, but the Chinese shaman waved it off.

"What do you think Anna has planned for us?" Yoh asked.

"I dunno, but we'll have to wait, I guess," Ryu said. Ren eyed Chocolove dangerously. The American noticed he was being watched and met eyes with him.

"What!?" he cried after a long silence.

"I'm waiting to see if you'll make one of your lame jokes."

"Why!?"

"So I can get some target practice."

"What!? You'd use me for target practice!?" Chocolove cried.

"Of course. I need to make up for the days I was asleep and lying around." Ren pulled out Bao Lèi. Chocolove backed up a few feet. Yoh laughed, then felt that chill that runs down his spine whenever Anna stares at him with her cold, black eyes. He looked over to see her standing impatiently, hands on her hips. To his joy, Amidamaru was floating right beside her. When his eyes landed on Yoh, the samurai suddenly turned into a five year old and charged his old master, pulling him into a bear hug. However, when Bason saw Ren, that spirit turned into a two year old and pulled Ren into the biggest, most embarrassing hug and started bawling. The Chinese shaman just endured it as Ryu and Tokageroh had a reunion that was _way_ too close for two men to be, and Chocolove was busy scratching Mic's belly as the cat purred and rolled over. Anna rolled her eyes.

"Are you boys all done with your happy reunions?" she asked. Bason was curled up on Ren's shoulder—spirit ball form—and just basking in his master's presence. Everyone's attention turned to her, and when she was satisfied, she continued. "I brought back your old spirits because I thought you'd need more help. They're more familiar with you than those elemental ones, so they might come more in handy than the others."

"It's nice to see you again, Lord Yoh!" Amidamaru cried. "Heaven wasn't as good as being by your side! I feel so much more at home!!"

"Waah! Young Master, I was so lonely up there!!!"

"There, there, Bason. Please stop crying." Ren petted his spirit's head, a slight blush to his face that _his_ spirit was the only one that was crying. "Bason, really, please pull it together."

"Is this because Hao's come back?" Yoh asked. Anna nodded without hesitation.

"So, boys, are you willing to work with your old allies again?" she asked, raising her eyebrow as a challenge. The boys stared at her a moment, exchanged serious, cold looks with each other, and nodded in agreement. "Good. Because all of you start on a strict training regimen." All the boys groaned; Ren scoffed.

"Sorry, but I have to go to China for now," he said, raising his hand in a wave. "My sister wants me to come home. Grandpa's on his last leg and that leg's starting to break." With hardly a word, Ren started down the stairs, listening as Bason began to tell him of the many things he'd seen in heaven and how wonderful it was to be back at Ren's side.

**A/N: Again, this is post-ANIME!!!!! A—NI—ME!!! Read, dammit!!**


	13. Bunnies

**A/N: STOP SENDING ME HATE REVIEWS ABOUT HAO ASAKURA! HE'S PART OF THE PLOT, DAMMIT!!!**

**And yes, I'm still using honorifics. But the shamans got so buddy buddy with the Soul Reapers that they forget. Plus, not a lot of them are used in the Shaman King anime. So, uh, yeah. Honorifics are still used some. They might disappear as the story goes on, though. Enjoy!**

Ren tapped his foot impatiently on the sidewalk. How long had it been since he'd talked with his family, six months? He growled and leaned against the wall of the phone booth. Beside him, Bason was just curled up happily. Spirit of Thunder, jealous spirit that it was, was eyeing Bason dangerously, emitting a low growl from the back of its throat. Ren snapped at it to endure it and heard something on the other end. It was his grandfather.

"Hello?" he asked in a gruff, angry voice. "What do you want?"

"Well, it's nice to know my dear grandfather has such wonderful manners to his grandson," Ren snapped back. The mood on the other end brightened.

"Ren, my boy! What a surprise! We thought you'd left the family! Jun, give me a minute! Stop trying to get the phone!" Ren laughed.

"Still lively over there?"

"Of course! Where are you, the ID tells me you're calling from an unfamiliar number. We already have the Inn's programmed into the phone. Tell your friend Manta thank you, by the way." Ren laughed.

"Alright, alright. Is my father there?" he asked, his voice now lowering. Ching noticed the tone and calmed down.

"Why? Do you want to talk to him?" he replied.

"Yes, but in person. I have a…well, there's something I need do."

"Oh? And what would that be?"

Ren grinned. It wasn't that sort of smile Yoh or Ryu had, or even the enormous mouth of Horokeu's could make. It was one of those smiles Ren used to get when he was about to kill someone. Bason remembered that look without fail, and he recoiled to see what his master was thinking.

"I'm going to kill him."

**(Funbari Inn)**

Faust was still fast asleep and Orihime was brushing out his tangles thoroughly. Ichigo and Uryu were talking about what the other shamans might be doing, and that it would probably be a good idea to take them out as quickly as possible. "It doesn't matter what they do to benefit us now," Uryu fought as Ichigo meant to defend their new friends, "they'll become enemies later. It's better if we take them out as quickly as we can!"

"I'm telling you, Uryu, it's not a good idea!" Ichigo said back. He could remember the Shikigami and Anna threatening his life. "They might help us defeat Aizen and the Arrancars!"

"Fuck Aizen! Fuck the Arrancars! They haven't shown up for days, and that could be a sign. You just don't know anymore, Ichigo." Uyru leaned closer, his cold eyes locking him in place. His voice lowered to a hussed whisper. "The people are a danger to us in the future. Might as well nip it in the bud while we have the chance." Something flashed by in the corner of Orihime's eyes, and she looked up. Nothing was there, so she turned back to brushing Faust's hair.

The door opened and Anna and the others walked in. Ichigo and Uryu were surprised to find that Yoh, Ryu, and Chocolove all had new spirits, and that Ren wasn't with them. Anna glared at them before stalking off to the kitchen. She eyed Ichigo dangerously before doing so. Yoh plopped down across from Ichigo and Uryu and Amidamaru transformed back to a samurai from his spirit ball form. The newcomers he didn't know were giving him chills, and their energy was definitely something to be wary about.

"Lord Yoh…"

"Oh yeah, Ichigo, Uryu, Orihime! This is my old spirit ally from the first tournament, Amidamaru! He's a samurai spirit if you haven't figured out yet." Yoh chuckled. "Since the tournament's difficulty level has increased, Anna decided that having them back was a good idea."

"Nice to meetcha, Samurai!" Orihime gushed, waving. Yoh looked around.

"Where's Chad?" he asked.

"Oh, he got an announcement of a fight and left." Uryu stood, making his way upstairs. "I'm going to go check up on Toshiro. I'll see you all later." He quickly escaped up the stairs. The others just exchanged looks before sitting down and introducing their own spirits, who all had doubts about the new visitors. Orihime giggled to herself and complimented a job well done before she looked around.

"Hey, where's Ren-kun?" she asked. Yoh squirmed.

"His, uh, grandad's dying," Yoh said. "And he wants to go see him." Orihime looked teary-eyed, like she was going to cry. Ichigo rushed over to comfort her and apologized, explaining that she has a soft heart and that she just can't stand news of dying people. Feet clomped down the stairs and Rangiku appeared, carrying a tray of empty dishes. She stopped, smiled at them, and turned and walked into the kitchen. Yoh remembered their guest and decided that he'd go and pop in to say hello. He waved and quickly pulled himself up the stairs. He inspected the rooms—Horokeu's, Lyserg's, Anna's—and right across from his was the room Faust reserved for his patients. Yoh waltzed over happily and knocked. He didn't wait for an answer before pulling the lattice back. The young boy Rangiku brought and Uryu were holding a conversation. Upon seeing Yoh's face, the boy's eyes widened, and he reached for the sword lying against the bed, unsheathing it and holding it out in front of him, his white brows pulled together tightly. Without warning, he lunged, and Yoh dodged out of the way and the blade sliced easily through the lattice, tearing the paper doors, and he brought it down onto the rail at the top of the stairs. Yoh didn't have time to dodge. Instead, he let his feet slide opposite ways until he fell on his butt just beneath the sword's edge. From downstairs, the noise was audible, and everyone rushed up to see what the commotion was about. When Rangiku took in what was going on, she hurried to her friend's side and pulled him away from Yoh, wrenching the sword from the boy's hands.

"It's all right, Captain!" she said. "He's not Hao! Calm down!" Rangiku shook him and it took a moment for the boy to clear up his vision. He looked from Rangiku to Yoh, his chest rising from labored breathing, and he sighed. His hand pulled Rangiku's off his shoulder begrudgingly and backed away a few steps. He didn't bow, nor did he apologize; instead, he scowled down at Yoh.

"…He looks so much like him…," the boy mumbled. Rangiku nodded. She was too busy to notice it until now, but Yoh resembled Hao strongly. Yoh's brow rose and the other shamans' eyes opened in surprise.

"Did you just…," Horokeu started.

"…say 'Hao'?" Lyserg finished. Chocolove swallowed. Rangiku looked at their expressions curiously. She nodded.

"Yes, I did," she answered. "Why, is that a bad thing?" Anna soon came up the stairs, a tanuki and kitsune spirit in tow. Tamao looked at Anna in shock that her spirits had just now shown up. She walked over and began to scold them quietly.

"Hao is Yoh's brother. _Twin_ brother. That's why he looks so much like him. I guess that seeing Yoh's face reminded you of Hao and brought up some anger." She crossed her arms and stalked over. She was barely shorter than him, but a few more centimeters, and she just might tower over him. "I'm guessing he killed someone close to you? That 'Hinamori' person?"

The boy's face faltered, and Anna smirked, knowing she was right. "It's your fault for charging him. In fact, I think you deserved it. You knew he was dangerous, and you went after him anyways." The boy pulled his hand back to slap her, but Yoh was behind him in the blink of an eye, catching his wrist and roping his arm around the boy's neck.

"Sorry, but I can't let you hit Anna," Yoh said, though he didn't sound the least bit sorry. "If I did, she'd kill me later."

**(Somewhere in Tokyo)**

"Rukia, are you sure you want this?" Byakuya asked. His eyes were set straight into hers. His tone was dead serious. Rukia looked up at him, her eyes shining excitedly.

"Yes, Byakuya, I do."

"But why?"

"Because I just want it!"

"Fine."

Byakuya, reluctant as he was, paid the cashier and grabbed the pink bunny off of the toy store's counter, handing it to Rukia. A light pink blush touched her cheeks and in the time lapse of two seconds she was a five year old girl. She hugged it tightly and giggled like a school girl. Byakuya collected his change and the couple exited the toy store. Rukia looked content with her bunny and she beamed.

"Thank you, Byakuya-nii-sama!" she sang, standing on tiptoe to kiss his cheek. Byakuya just messed up her hair and looked at his Oracle Pager. Rukia peeked around him and her mood dampened. "Are you still thinking about that kid Nichrome, nii-sama?" Without a word, Byakuya nodded. Rukia smiled and looked down at her bunny, playing with its arms.

"Yeah… I wonder if Ichigo's okay…" Byakuya let his arm drop and pulled his sister to his side. He kissed the top of her head affectionately.

"If I know that bastard well—which, unfortunately, I do—he's just fine. He and the others can take care of themselves. Come, let's get back to the hotel." Rukia's stomach pitted, and she looked up at Byakuya as they walked. After a few moments, he turned towards her, his brow raised. "Is there something you wish to ask me?" he asked. Rukia whimpered and turned back in front.

"Um, well, I was wondering…" The Oracle Pager she'd earned was slapping against her leg like a keychain. "Could I go look for Ichigo? By myself? I wanna see him…" Byakuya looked at her for a few more moments, pondering her question. Of course, he was hesitating. The Soutaicho had died, and Ichigo had been there when Byakuya couldn't because of his duties as captain. Ichigo was an important person to her. If he said no, she'd get depressed, maybe even upset. But if he said yes, she'd probably get lost. Then again, all she'd have to do was detect his spiritual energy and follow it to get to him.

"Rukia…," he started, catching her attention as they came to a crosswalk and waited for the light to turn green. "If you want to go find him, you can. But you have to promise me to call my cell phone—" Byakuya pulled the device out "—when you find him. _Immediately._ Alright?" Rukia's face brightened and she squealed, scaring a few people beside her, and hugged her brother.

"Thank you, Byakuya-nii-sama! I promise!" She hugged the bunny tightly, and as soon as the light turned green, she was across the street, already tracking strawberry's energy like a bloodhound to the hunt. He smiled and looked at his black cell phone with a black and red bunny hanging off the end—one of the eyes was replaced by an X— that Rukia bought him and attached while he was debating on buying her the stuffed animal. He'd just have to trust her. He quickly trotted across the street and started down another sidewalk towards his and Rukia's hotel. He sighed. Hisana might have been proud of him, allowing his little sister to go after the boy she liked.

…Oops. Big brother just made a mistake.

**A/N: If I get one more hate review about Hao Asakura, I will PURPOSELY stop writing this and work on other stories for A LONG TIME. Don't think I'm kidding.**


	14. El Diablo contra el Caballero

**A/N: Anonymous reviews are disabled to reduce spam. ^^**

Chad ran his copper-toned fingers through is thick locks. His opponent wasn't here yet, and he was waiting patiently for her, his leg shaking from nerves and impatience. His official—though he tried to hide himself, his presence was only the more obvious—was nearly ready to declare Chad the winner by forfeit, but he had to wait for the timer on the Oracle Pager to go out before he could do so. Chad's eyes darted to his left, and he stood. A woman was walking over to him, a half-used cigarette in her mouth that was protruding smoke, and a tube-top with shorts. A pack of cigarettes was sticking open in her pocket and thick blue hair was slicked in front of her face and sharply back down to her hip. Her eyes didn't show signs of emotion or life and when she saw Chad she took a long drag on her cigarette and sighed loudly, the putrid, gray smoke flowing from her nostrils. She pushed an invisible hair behind her head. He swirled his arm around, popping his shoulder. The woman cocked her brow, unfaltering, as a heavy suit of armor clanked over to her side, lance positioned skyward, ready to fall when the time for the fight came. The woman's eyes scanned left to right as she inhaled the gray smoke deeply, before sighing it out and dropping the butt to the ground. She stepped on it with the toe of her boot, extinguishing the tiny flame. The armor, its eyes glowing neon green from within in the helmet, froze upon seeing Chad, and lowered the lance slightly. It shook with excitement and the woman flicked open her lighter, the flame igniting, as she pulled out another cigarette from the box and brought it to her mouth, lighting and inhaling deeply. She cracked open the side of her mouth and blew out the smoke, saying in a sharp voice, "So, where's your spirit? Your medium?" Chad's eyes remained on the ground.

"Don't litter," he ordered, walking carefully up to her and bending down, picking the butt up and shoving it into his right pants pocket. "It's bad for the nature." She jerked back, surprised. Her brow knit together.

"What?" she demanded. Chad, towering over the girl, looked her straight in the eye.

"Don't. Litter." He said the words as complete sentences, his eyes never straying from hers. She growled.

"Do you know who you're talking to!? I am Kanna Bismarch, a very powerful shaman from England!! I'll fucking kill you!" she screeched. Chad dodged a lunge for his mouth and danced away, avoiding a kick. "Don't you _dare_ talk to me like that again, SLIME!!" Kanna jumped then took a deep breath and sighed. "He made me lose my cool. This is why I hate men."

"Please don't litter," Chad repeated, in case his point had not gotten across. "I don't like seeing trash thrown on the ground, same with cigarette butts." He cracked his knuckles, looking down at his Oracle Pager as the thirty-second warning sounded. Kanna took a full breath of her cigarette and blew the smoke out in a single breath. The armor behind her shifted, pulling its lance down for attack. Chad stretched his legs and arms. "Oh, it looks like we're about to fight. Please don't throw another butt on the ground."

Kanna growled under her breath. How irritating. She'd have to finish the fight as quickly as possible in order to kill him. After all, eliminating your opponents is not against the rules. Ren, from what Hao informed them, annihilated Chrom, his official, and still passed into the tournament. Unfortunately, the boy befriended Yoh Asakura, and his intentions changed.

"Yeah, so?" Kanna plucked the butt from her mouth and sneered, dropping it and not even bothering to stamp out the flame. "I dropped it. What are you going to do about it?"

As the Oracle Pager's beeping quickened and the pitch increased, Chad's arms both popped, changing form and releasing a wave of _reiatsu _that made Kanna's knees shake. She swallowed and gathered herself calmly, staring almost in horror and a little of shock. His left arm was white with a bright red stripe running from the shoulder to the back of his hand, and a sharp point stuck out from his shoulder. His right arm was a darker crimson with intricate marking on it in black, and from his elbow to well past his hand was a large shield with what looked like a masked face on it. He eyed her expression and then used a form of _shunpo_, landing himself behind her. He brought back his fist, a lethal glow in his eyes, and brought it down hard, crushing the hard dirt into a snow-like powder. He sighed and his eyes shifted up to see the armor holding Kanna bridal-style in its arms, looking down at him dangerously. Kanna seemed surprised. The armor looked down at her and said, "Lady Kanna, please do not provoke him anymore than you need to. I'd say he's bothered enough."

"It talks?" Chad asked from behind them again. He pulled his fist back and attempted to strike, but his fist made contact with only the lance, bending the lance's tip only slightly. Kanna pushed out of the armor's arms and onto her feet, exhaling dark gray smoke. Chad shook his fist. "And it's hard too."

"Of course!" Kanna snapped. "It's made of the best iron in England, especially for my Over Soul! Someone as stupid and weak as you could _never_ touch it severely in a million—" Kanna couldn't even finished half of her sentence before Chad's left fist slammed in the middle of the armori, inches from Kanna's head, and busted through it, pushing it against the ground. Kanna jerked her head over to the tanned boy, who simply cracked his knuckled and looked down at her with emotionless eyes.

"That's the best?" he asked in a flat voice. "Hn." Kanna's cigarette fell from her mouth. Chad still didn't pay attention to her. He walked over to the armor. After inspecting it for a moment, he gripped the right arm in his hands, ripping it from the torso, and crunching the metal so that it stuck out from between his fingers. The armor twitched and Chad jerked, moving out of the way as an arm protruded from the hole in the middle, knife in hand, and slicing open a wound in Chad's arm. He jumped back and gripped at the wound. It soaked his red button-up shirt's sleeve, which was tattered. He just gripped the fabric and ripped it from the front, stuffing it into his pocket. He could have Uryu patch it up later.

"Ha! Ashcroft isn't weak enough to let a stupid shaman-wannabe defeat him!" she cried with a smirk as she lit another cigarette. "Just try to defeat him." She took a proud drag on the cancer stick as Ashcroft, a naked knight with a small dagger, pulled from the armor. Chad looked down at the armor, then at Ashcroft, then at Kanna.

"Oh. The armor's not your medium," he said. Kanna growled. How slow could the guy be?! "Then what else?" Chad examined the spirit as it lunged for him, throwing the knife at any part of his body he could. Chad threw up the shield and threw his arm against it in an attempt to push it away, but the ghost's body just faded into smoke and the spirit slashed at Chad, opening up his other shoulder. He gripped the wound, both leaking blood like Horokeu when he spotted lots of food, and he watched as the smoke formed a…

Smoke!

Chad jerked his head over to Kanna, who exhaled a deep cloud of smoke. Ashcroft "suddenly" got a power boost, and lunged for Chad again. Chad threw the shield up and darted through the knight's dissipating body. He flashed up to Kanna so quickly she didn't see him until her cigarettes were gone and Chad was grinding them up in between his hands. Kanna reached into her pocket. All of them were gone, and Ashcroft's body began to slowly fade. Soon, he was just a small spirit ball. Kanna stared in shock. She had…lost? To _him_? A rookie shaman?

Chad looked at the Oracle Pager on his wrist, not even smiling when the words "Win" appeared in bright black on the screen. His arms went back to the original way they were and he moved his neck around to get out the kinks. Kanna growled.

"How the hell did you win!?" she demanded. "You're fucking freaks! You're not even supposed to _be_ in this tournament!" Chad cocked his brow.

"Hm? How do you know?" he asked.

"Hao-sama informed us! He knows everything! Oh, he'll kill me for sure! If I die, I'm haunting you until you go fucking _insane_!!" Kanna turned around, spitting onto the ground, before stomping off. Chad watched her leave, then looked at his hands with the shredded tobacco.

"Time to go find a trash can."

**A/N: Ah, so you thought I'd go away until New Years? Nah, I just said that. I was just gonna stop for a few days to cool off. But one thing has changed: to try to reduce shitty spam, I've cut off anonymous reviews. Sorry. ^^; And I know this was a really bad chapter, huh? It's late and I'm tired. Any mistakes I will fix tomorrow.**


	15. Suspisions

**A/N: I just realized: Chocolove hasn't tried to crack a joke AT ALL! So, yeah, lame joke is lame. **

Chad walked through the door, the blood from the wounds now coagulated, and slipped his shoes off of his feet, finding his way into the living room and tapping on the lattice to get Uryu's attention. The Quincy looked over, his eyes widening as he took in what he saw. Orihime gasped. Chad, without a word, took his shirt off and handed both pieces of the fabric to Uryu, muttering a small, "Could you fix this for me?" Uryu stared at his friend's arms.

"Why would I fix your shirt now when you're _bleeding_?" Uryu gasped. Ichigo and Orihime both jumped to him. Anna was holding Yoh's shirt to keep him in place. "Chad, what happened!?"

"My fight," Chad replied nonchalantly. "I got hurt."

"No shit!" Ichigo cried. "Who did you fight!?"

Chad paused for a moment. What was her name again? "Oh yeah. Kanna." Yoh and the others jerked, and Anna didn't seem to move at all. "She was a tough opponent. Sort of." Tamao came in with tea. Her eyes landed on Chad's well-built, dark-skinned torso, and her ears turned red. She looked away quickly and went back to the kitchen, saying she was making dinner for everyone. Toshiro was sitting at the end of the table, his legs crossed and his arm bandaged up to his elbow, dangerously eyeing Yoh. Matsumoto nudged him in case the shaman looked over. But Yoh's gaze made its way to the young boy. He grinned, but was replied to with a low growl. Yoh pouted and looked away. His mind, though, was on serious matters.

_Why did she call him captain?_, he thought, holding his head on his hand. _Hm. I wonder what Anna mentioned to me was true…_ He inspected the boy. Black shirt, khaki pants, and white hair were quite the fashion statement, and it seemed like those eyes of his were looking through you instead at you. Toshiro didn't seem to be comfortable in the same room as Yoh and stood up, walking briskly up the stairs and to the patient's room, which was obvious by the way he slammed the door. "If he breaks it, you're paying for it, Strawberry," Anna informed him, and the Shinigami growled under his breath. "What was that?"

"N-nothing," Ichigo replied, his eyes fixated on the television.

"Hot thing~!" Chocolove cried with glee, and Horokeu had a field day kicking the hell out of the poor comedian. Anna rolled her eyes and Yoh started chuckling to help him out.

"Don't laugh if it's not funny, Yoh," Anna snapped. Yoh stopped and sighed. She obviously had the poor music-lover wrapped tightly around her fingers. "Rangiku, you realize that we're going to charge you for the operation Faust did," she added. Chad, whose wounds were still present, frowned at her…if you could even call the look he gave her frowning.

"What?!" Orihime gasped. "I thought you said it would be free!"

"Her staying here is free," Anna corrected. "I never said I wouldn't charge you for the operation. I just said to forget the expenses for the time. Of course, the operation will cost you about 30 thousand yen."

"Thirty thousand!?" Ichigo and Uryu gasped. Orihime scowled.

"Of course, if Faust would stitch up your friend there, I'd have to add an extra 500 yen." Anna's eyes glowed dangerously. She smirked when Orihime stood.

"Well…we don't need him!" she snapped. She turned to Faust, who looked rather dumbstruck, Eliza's skull cradled in his lap. "No offense, of course. But Anna-san, that won't be necessary! We don't need it!" Anna cradled her head on her folded hands. She sneered. Only two words escaped her lips:

"Prove it."

Orihime scoffed and marched over to Chad. She placed her hands out in front of the wounds. Lyserg reached for her shoulder, but when Chad's arm started glowing orange, he froze. Everyone did, their eyes wide. As they watched, Chad's blood seemed to seep back into the wounds and the skin came back together, like a zipper. Once she was done, she turned back to Anna and stuck her tongue out. Anna simply smiled. The other shamans were dumbstruck. Horokeu was the first to speak.

"Why didn't you do that to Toshiro earlier!?" he shrieked. Orihime blinked out of her pouting phase and giggled.

"Heh heh…Well, I was too worried about Rangiku." Orihime beamed, then looked at Anna. "See!? We don't need Faust! Again, no offense!" she added.

"None taken," Faust replied, but the way his voice sounded made it hard to believe he wasn't hurt just a little. "Eliza…I'm useless…" He petted the skull.

"Yoh," Anna said, as if the conversation had never happened before. "I think big-tits here might be of some assistance." Before anyone could speak, scream, or even blush, someone rapped on the door furiously. There was a two-second pause before the tapping came back. Ryu stood quickly and rushed to answer it. He opened the door and looked down. A girl with dark-raven hair and indigo eyes looked up at him. She was clutching a pink bunny in her arms and she looked so innocent. Ryu felt like hugging her. He would have, however, there was a man standing in front of the gate, his dark eyes watching Ryu with a furious glower. Ryu stopped himself. That man was creepy as hell!

"Uh, yes?" he asked. "Is there something I can help you with?"

"Is someone named Ichigo Kurosaki here?" she asked. Ryu blinked and nodded.

"Is he a friend?" The girl blushed.

"Y-Yes," she said. Ryu nodded and stepped aside as she darted past him. The girl called out Ichigo's name and disappeared into the main room. Ryu watched as the man at the gate gave him a final glare and disappeared. Ryu gulped and closed the door, heading back to the room. He saw the girl talking excitedly to Ichigo in a fast pace and her hand squeezing his tightly. He also noticed Orihime was rubbing her own hand, looking at the two with an envious look. He walked in, asking, "So, Ichigo, who's your cute little friend there." The girl gave him a warning look slightly resembling the man's.

"This is Rukia, a friend of mine," he explained. Rukia pulled her hand away from Ichigo's. "She's just like me. Only, she likes bunnies _way_ too much." Ichigo tugged the stuffed animal from her arms playfully, holding it just out of her reach. Anna looked at them enviously as well, wishing she and Yoh could do something as cute as them in public. But unfortunately for her, Yoh was too lazy to act cute with her, and she had a dangerously violent reputation to keep up with. If anyone caught her doing something like that—God forbid Ren—her entire image would be tossed down the drain.

"Nice to meetcha," Yoh said with a grin. "I'm Yoh."

"Horokeu!"

"Lyserg!"

"Ice berg!" There was a loud _crack_ that signaled Horokeu was beating up Chocolove again. Rukia stared in shock, her hair sticking out in surprise. Ichigo just waved it away, explaining that this happened a lot, and that Chocolove was a wannabe comedian. Rukia nodded.

"So, would it be okay to stay here for the night?" Rukia asked. Ichigo looked at Anna. When Rukia turned around, Ichigo gave her a pleading look. Anna sighed.

"If you can pay for yourself," the Itako answered, averting her gaze. Rukia beamed.

"I can!" she replied happily, forgetting that her bunny was still being held away from her. Ichigo brought it down to his lap. Rukia still ignored it.

"Okay. You can share a room with Orihime." Rukia grinned and Orihime tried to smile, making more of a grimace. "I'll be expecting payment tomorrow morning first thing." Rukia nodded.

"Um, I have to go get my things from the hotel first," she said. "Ichigo, could you come with me?" Ichigo jumped.

"Why me?" he asked.

"Because you still have my bunny. And I'll kick your ass if you don't come along," she answered. Ichigo stood and lead the way. Rukia waved and walked out. She blushed, realizing she had forgotten to take off her shoes.

"Oh, I hope they'll forgive me!" She clasped her hands together. "Please forgive me, for I was in a rush and wasn't thinking." Ichigo watched her with an amused smile.

"Come on, let's go get your things. I don't want to be there when your brother is in one of his moods again," Ichigo said, rubbing the back of his head. "He hates me to no end."

"I know," Rukia said. The walk was silent for awhile. Rukia pointed out that Ichigo still had her bunny, and he returned it with hardly a word. Rukia twisted her shirt for awhile. She looked up at Ichigo. "Uh, Ichigo?" she asked. The orange head looked down at her, brows raised.

"Yeah?" he replied.

"Um… About those people…" She rubbed the back of her neck. "They're safe to be around, right?" Ichigo gave her a look of amusement. But when he turned away, the smile faded.

"Not sure," he admitted, putting his arm around her shoulder and giving it a squeeze. "But they haven't tried anything yet."

"Scatter, Senbon Zakura."


	16. Si Dues Me Relinquit

**A/N: Hao-oriented chapter to take up space. Enjoy. Oh, and if I get anymore complaints about how much you idiots hate Hao, I'll block you. ^^**

Kanna took a long, shaky drag on her cigarette. Her stomach did flips. Hao was in a piss-assed mood, and she knew it. The night air was supposed to be a simple 68 degrees, but it was hot as hell at their campground. And when the boy emerged from his tent with the gold-colored lion at his side, Kanna swallowed. Hao walked up to her, and as she bowed, he ripped the cigarette from her mouth so quickly that part of the butt ripped and stuck between her teeth. He clenched his fist as the end burned into his hand and dropped it to the ground. His eyes burned into hers.

"Now tell me…you weren't successful, were you?"

***

Hao's eyes shot open. His stomach began to churn painfully and he turned over, heaving air. He gasped and swallowed. His torso was wrapped tightly (and uncomfortably) in blood-stained bandages; his forehead as well was in bandages, and throbbed with a dull pain to his heartbeat. Every time his heart pounded, so did his head. He gripped it and felt at the itchy fabric. He was about to rip them off, but stopped. His eyes caught sight of a lattice door, but it wasn't the door that interested him. Behind it was a little girl peeking in on him. When he looked at her, she gasped and dashed away and down a flight of stairs. Hao blinked, almost scowling. Did she just scream at him? He pushed the covers of the foul-smelling futon away from him and tried to stand. His head rolled, and he fell on his elbows and knees. He must have been out for awhile. His stomach churned from the dizziness and he heaved again. An old woman walked over and doused him with ice and water. The fire shaman jumped.

"Now now, that ought to get the fever down!" she exclaimed. Hao turned to glare at her. That was his natural body temperature, dammit! He was naturally hot! The woman grinned. "Oh, but now you're cold."

"Damn…damn…damn…" Hao sneezed. Oh, she was going to get it! The woman dropped the basin that held the water very close to Hao's foot. He yanked the appendage away quickly.

"Well, it's nice to see you awake. You've been asleep for about three weeks," the old woman continued, ignoring the fact that Hao was probably scarred for life now. "I found you on the mountains covered in blood and sliced down the middle. So, I took ya back home and cleaned and bandaged you." She picked up the futon and a cockroach ran out from under it. Hao jerked. The woman stepped on it without complaint and walked on. Hao watched as its leg twitched.

"Three weeks?" he asked carefully. That cockroach looked like it was in a lot of pain. The woman looked back at him.

"Yep. You've got a long gash down your forehead. It looks painful. But your pretty face doesn't seem to be harmed." Hao blinked. The old woman pointed towards a vanity that was probably the cleanest thing in the house. Hao rushed over and ripped off the bandages. The blood had already coagulated and began to harden into a scab. He touched it lightly with his hands. It felt crusty. He grimaced. The old woman smacked him on the head. He turned to call Spirit of Fire, only to find that it was not with him.

"Now now, I won't stand nasty children in this house! Go wash yourself!" she ordered, throwing a towel at him. The towel, which smelled an awful lot like lavender, covered his face and the top of his head. Hao growled from underneath it. Reluctantly, he exited the death trap and felt wind blow from the woman throwing the door shut. The rest of the house, to his surprise, was very tidy and neat, and incense candles burned and smoked from downstairs. Hao opened five doors before he found the bathroom. In there, he removed the kimono and laid it over the bar hanging on the wall. The door opened and a little girl walked in. She had short white hair that hung messily around her shoulders and emotionless charcoal eyes. She was wearing a doll-sized sundress. Her skin was pasty white and her head and hands were wrapped tightly with skin-toned bandages. He watched as she moved in and held up a small washrag for him. It was warm and soft. He took it and she left, the bandage on her left hand falling slightly. She pulled it up hastily and closed the door. Hao blinked a few times and went to figure out how to turn on the shower. After a few minutes of tinkering with the handle, more cold water sprayed him, making him jump.

Someone was going to die. Painfully.

After a few minutes (and some groaning from the pipes) the water heated up and Hao washed the filth off of himself. Of course, his bloody bandages were now resting in an uneven pile on the floor and his wounds stung. But he ignored them as he washed his hair about five times to rid of anything that tried its hardest to stick. Soap and water ran brown down the drain until Hao had cleaned himself thoroughly. Or, almost thoroughly. One dirty thing that remained was the fact that he had lost to his brother, his friends, and that his followers had been watching the entire time. He cursed loudly and slammed his fist against the light blue tiles of the bathroom, cracking it loudly. The tile and granite fell into the tub as he shut the water off. His hair was soaking wet. He flipped it over his shoulder and wrung it out like a dishrag. He rag that the little girl had given him was sullied with dirt and bacteria that had gathered those twenty-something days he was asleep. Hao threw the curtain back and stepped out of the shower. As he was wrapping the towel around his middle, he caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror, and looked himself up and down. The scabs had turned a light brown from being soaked with water, but they were still present and visible. The one on his forehead wasn't as bad as the bloodied version had made it look. Maybe it wouldn't scar that horribly. But the one on his middle would need lots of time to heal. The scar showed proof of having cracked in the past and ran from the base of his neck to his waist. His brother really got him good.

Disgusted by his appearance, Hao turned away with a hiss. He found his clothes lying on the counter in front of the mirror. His poncho and pants were there, along with his gloves. He could see seams in the tears were patched up and sewn back together with a crafty hand. He pulled everything on, surprised to see a small golden ball resting beside his shoes. The ball turned into a small cub, bowing low. Hao realized that he still had the Great Spirit and bent down to pick it up. The spirit turned into a ball and sat quietly on his shoulder. He felt slightly better; his ego wasn't so much bruised now.

"Okay, kiddo!" the old woman howled up the stairs. "Time for lunch! You must be starving!" Hao jumped, not expecting the old woman's voice to break the silence, and carefully descended the stairs, making sure that she wasn't going to dump cold water on him. The stairs led almost straight into the dining room, where the girl and the old woman were sitting down eating rice and deep-fried shrimp. Though he hated to admit to it, Hao was famished, and he sat down at the empty chair. He muttered a very impolite "thanks for the food" and began to eat slowly. The food wasn't bad, but slightly bland. The girl, though, ate silently without complaints.

"I'm Kohaku," the old woman introduced with a wrinkle-faced smile. "But you can call me granny. This here is little Samui. She's four." The girl looked over at Hao with the same expression she had when she barged into his bathroom and he noticed something about her that was abnormal. Her right eye was larger, almost popping out of her skull, than her left. She noticed him staring and looked away. "She doesn't go outside because she hates it. She stays inside all the time; always has."

"I see," he murmured. "But if she's your granddaughter, shouldn't she help around the house?"

"Oh, yes, she should. But she doesn't. She stays in her room all the time. Oh, the tea must be ready!" Kohaku staggered up, her bones creaking and joints popping, and waddled into the kitchen. She reminded Hao of a retarded penguin. Samui looked up at Hao again before turning away and putting a large shrimp inside of her mouth. The hard tail stuck out. Hao watched for a moment as she struggled to relieve herself of the inedible piece before he pinched the tail between two fingers and waited until she bit down as hard as she could before he pulled the tail from the meat.

***

Eight days had passed since Hao had joined Kohaku and Samui in their little mountainside cabin. He'd been forced to help Kohaku around the house—cleaning, doing laundry, cooking—and Samui followed him wherever he went, clinging to his poncho like a little duckling. Sometimes, if he didn't feel her tugging on him, he'd turn his head to make sure she was back there. She'd even wait for him outside of the bathroom whenever he went. Kohaku noticed the attachment and tried her best to keep Samui away from him. She kept murmuring to herself something about curses and whatnot, but Hao simply allowed Samui to do as she pleased. It was his first relationship with someone, not even having the same with Opacho, and he wasn't sure why he cared about her the way he did. Still, he was always there, ready to kill a spider should one wander into Samui's room at night.

"Thank you for the meal," he said one night, clapping his hands together after dinner. It had been late because Kohaku had left without saying a word, and Hao had to quickly whip something up so they wouldn't starve. "Or, should I say 'you're welcome,' since I made it?" Samui nodded.

"I'm off to bathe. If Kohaku comes in, please let her know there's food in the kitchen." As Hao went up the stairs, he heard tapping behind him. When he turned around, Samui froze, looking like a deer in headlights. Her right eye seemed capable of getting bigger. "_Why_ are you following me?" Samui rushed up the stairs and grabbed onto his cloak. Hao sighed and went to the top of the stairs and pried her hands off of his clothes.

"Samui, what is it?" He didn't mean too, but he sounded tired. The girl pointed at him, pointed to herself, and ruffled her hair. And just after she had learned to brush it, too. Hao cocked his brow. "Excuse me?" Samui stuck out her lip, the first sign of emotion towards him, and repeated the sequence. Hao was _not_ good at charades. After a few tries, she went and stomped towards the bathroom, throwing open the door. She pointed to herself, Hao, and then the tub and shower. That was when Hao got it.

"What? Oh, no no no. No. _No_. Do you know what Kohaku would do to me?" Hao could feel the Great Spirit growling from his room. "Well, not like she could really _do_ anything, but still. You're a young girl. You don't need to be bathing with other people, nonetheless boys." Samui stalked into the bathroom and placed herself on the floor. The wet noodle, of course.

"You're stubborn, aren't you?" He looked down at the bandages wrapped tightly around her hands and head. He'd been curious as to what was under them. He sighed. He knew how long her patience could last. They'd be there for a week arguing before she'd give up, at least. Hao groaned. "Alright, as long as you'll get yourself up off the floor." Samui grinned and jumped up, nodding. Hao first removed his clothes, seeing as she had already seen him naked five times from barging in when he was about to shower, and pulled her dress off. To his surprise, she didn't wear underwear under her dress. And she wasn't a she.

"Ko-chan makes me dress like a girl," Samui explained to Hao's shocked face. "She's an insane old codger. She wanted a girl, but I was what she got."

"B-But…! Your language! I thought you were only four?"

"I'm sixteen." Samui looked up at him, brushing his hands back so that Hao got a clear view of the girl…er…_boy_'s eye. He was definitely not seeing things. "This is something that was caused when I was possessed by a demon at birth." He bit his lip.

"An…an Evil Eye?" Hao guessed. Samui's brow rose.

"So you've heard of it? Yeah, that's what I have. But that old woman goes insane whenever she sees it, so she made me grow my hair long so that she wouldn't have to look at me. The only reason she keeps me is if I die the life insurance money goes to her." Hao looked down at Samui, almost with pity, before reaching to turn on the shower.

"So…why didn't you tell me you weren't a girl?" Hao felt almost embarrassed to think of him as a duckling. Samui smiled gently.

"I've never had a big brother before and that is what I kind of saw you as. Besides, if I suddenly piped up and said, 'hey, by the way, I'm not a girl,' wouldn't you be at least a little freak out?" Samui asked. Hao looked back at him.

"…Maybe."

***

Hao wasn't sure how his followers had found him, but when they did, they brought chaos with them. He watched practically in horror as Kanna held Samui by the throat, squeezing tightly. The young boy gasped and heaved, trying to get air down his slowly dissipating windpipe. His tiny hands reached for her fingers, trying as he might to get them off. But her grip was far stronger than his. He gave a final gasp, his eyes glazing over, before his hands fell and hung loosely beside his sides. The bandages began to come off, and Hao wasn't curious at all as to what was under them. He stared at Samui, hoping the young boy with twitch or smile at him, but nothing happened. Kanna dropped the corpse, which hit the floor loudly. Mari and Matti were standing behind Hao, feeling the air around heat up so bad they started to sweat. Kanna turned, looking proud of herself and hoping to see Hao sneering, only to find his mouth slightly open in shock and his eyes wide. She looked down at him as he fell to his knees.

Hao screamed with everything he had and the cabin went up in flames.


	17. Bye Bye

**A/N: Ah, no more dark themes. So, onto more happy chapters! …I think… Ah, also, there have been some fights that weren't mentioned due to time and I just didn't feel like it. Oh, and please excuse any unnoticed mistakes, 'cause I just recently ripped a hangnail, and that fucking hurts.**

Aizen looked over the arrancars numbered 1-10 bowing in front of him in the throne room of his Hueco Mundo "utopia." Halibel, Ulquiorra, Yammy, Grimmjow… Not even this line-up of Espadas interested Aizen. Gin and Kaname weren't even amusing him anymore. He pushed a stray lock of brown hair back and sighed, looking over to a small screen he had lit up beside him. On it was a list of shamans—ones who have passed their prelims, hacked from Oracle Pager—who had sparked in interest in Aizen, and he was giving their furyoku and social status a little look over. There were plenty of foreign names he had slight trouble with, but he acted as if nothing was wrong and continued down the list of names. Halibal shifted, catching his eye. He turned towards her, a smirk pulling at his lips. "Is something wrong, Number 3?" he asked. She hastily pushed her blond hair behind her ears.

"No sir," she said, looking to the floor. "I was just shifting my weight, sir."

"Hm." Aizen chuckled and continued to look down the list. He rested his cheek on his knuckles. "Ah, this boy seems interesting." He touched the name as a picture and extra details popped onto the screen. "Fifteen years old, and has a sister. My my, it even seems he carries around two weapons."

The arrancars—excluding Ulquiorra, who kept his eyes straight forward on Aizen—all stole glances at each other. They were all uneasy, and Aizen's chortling did nothing to help lighten the mood of the heavy room. Kaname stood still with that solemn expression he always wore and Gin's brows came together. The fox-resembling Soul Reaper actually seemed worried about what was going to happen. Aizen sighed happily, almost in relief.

"Ichimaru," he called. The silver-haired man took two steps forward.

"Yessir, Aizen-sama?" he replied. The man looked over, tilting his head so that Ichimaru could see the boy's picture. Gin raised his right brow.

"Go and tell this boy I want him to join me," he said, his eyes glowing with excitement. "Don't threaten him just yet, Ichimaru. Just let him know I'd like him to help us." Gin leaned over to see better ('If he opened his eyes, he would be able to just damn fine,' Grimmjow thought bitterly) and made a noise that Aizen didn't seem to like very much. "Is something wrong, Ichimaru?"

"He's…he's alive," Gin murmured just loud enough for Aizen to hear.

"Yes, he is. Is that a problem?"

Gin looked up, startled, then said, "No sir. Not at all."

***

"Ren! Breakfast!" Jun called, opening his bedroom door. The young Tao was nowhere to be found, however, there _was_ a large lump underneath the bed covers that might have suggested that maybe something was under them. Jun placed the tray of food on his dresser and pulled slightly at the covers. They stuck. "Ren, how long are you going to pout?"

"I'm _not_ pouting," came the acidic reply. Jun laughed.

"You got beat by father again, and you're just going to curl up under the covers and pout?"

"I'm _not_ pouting!"

"Ren, just swallow your pride. You're going to have to talk to him sooner or later." Jun pulled at the covers. She was now wishing that Ren was at least a little ticklish, that way she could just pinch his sides and he'd bolt up laughing. Then, she began to wish that he knew what tickling was. "Besides, none of us have seen you because you're always with Yoh and the others. Not that we aren't happy that you have friends, but—" Ren threw the covers off and glared at his sister. Gashes and bruises covered his body and his arms were wrapped tightly in bandages.

"Stop it. Just stop it." Jun flinched. "Just leave me alone." Ren leaned against his bed post and crossed his arms. Jun gave her brother a longing look before she turned and left. Ren watched the door close before he looked towards the far corner of his bedroom. He studied it for a few moments before someone emerged. The man's smile widened from ear to ear.

"What do you want?" he challenged, his brow raising and his eyes turning to solid acid. The man faked a hurt look, his smile remaining.

"Aw, why have ya got to be like that? I just wanna talk," the man said through a thick Osaka accent. Ren reached for his sword, watching the man as he watched him. The man bowed in respect as Ren's fingers curled around the handle. "My name is Gin Ichimaru. I have an invitation for you."

Ren flicked his wrist, unfolded the blade of his sword as he pulled his legs from beneath his bed covers. Gin inspected the wound-encased form of the person who had managed to cause a spark in Aizen's eye. "Ya know," he said as Ren examined him as well, "you look nothing like the picture Aizen-sama showed me." He internally laughed at the glare he received.

"That's because I was recently in a dispute," he spat. "Now tell me what you're here for or leave." Gin's face still showed pretend hurt.

"Aw, the cobra bites. Well, listen: I'm here to make ya an offer. My boss wants you on our side. We're willing to give ya anything. Power…"

Ren twitched, and Gin noticed. He continued to play on that chord.

"Yes, lots of power and control of very strong beings. You can get rid of those who annoy ya." Ren growled. "Ah, not tryin' to say anythin', it just… Well, you're gonna get stronger, definitely." The young Tao was silent after the last claim. He gritted his teeth together. Gin cocked a brow, his smile shrinking.

"So, your name was Gin, correct?" Ren asked, looking up at him from behind his bangs. Gin raised his brow. "Before you go making deals with someone like me, get your story straight. Sorry, but your group sounds like a lost cause." Bason appeared beside Ren, acting on his silent call, and Gin eyed the warlord carefully. He grinned again, reminding Ren of a fox spirit.

"Well, he never said I _had _to bring ya with me, but he'll still be disappointed." Gin shifted to his left foot. "You still don't wanna come with me, do ya?" Ren's eyes narrowed. "I figured. Well, see ya at the tournament. There, ya might not have a choice."

"Fuck off." Ren glared intently as the fox-like captain turned to leave. He stopped suddenly, looking over his shoulder. His eyes were open now, and the red irises burned into Ren's golden orbs. The Tao froze.

"I'm not kidding with ya, little boy. When the time comes, Aizen-sama's going to convince you to come join us, and you won't have a yes-or-no say in the matter." Ren's glare turned into a glower.

"Did you not hear me?" he asked. "If not, I'll repeat it: fuck. Off. You're not welcome here."

"Ah, I see." Gin closed his eyes and waved. "Bye bye."


	18. So Many Questions, So Little Answers

Dark, angry turquoise looked straight into clam, cool ebony black. The first boy continued to glare and the other just looked as if he was going to fall asleep. Some others in the room kept looking between them and the TV, making sure that a fight wouldn't break out. The second boy raised his brow, and opened his mouth. "You know, it doesn't matter how long you stare at me, I'm _not_ going to turn into Hao," Yoh said, one earbud in his ear and the other hanging down in his lap. His headphones, unused at the moment, were still slung around the back of his head, like he'd suddenly pull the earbuds out, plug his Walkman into his headphones and listen to the music through them. But the earbuds remained. Toshiro's brow came closer together.

"So?" he spat. "You still look like him."

"Yeah, we're twins. Twins look alike."

"Oh look, the phone," Anna said nonchalantly, standing up as the phone shrieked in the hallway. She left the room. Rukia didn't understand why it was that Toshiro was glaring fiercely at Yoh, and she didn't know who Hao was, but she thought that asking might rub some unwanted salt into some wounds, so she simply left it alone. Ichigo smiled at her and whispered that he would explain later if she was that curious. Anna opened the door, looking quite pissed off.

"Yoh, your friend is on the phone. He wants to talk to you," she snapped. Yoh blinked.

"Friend? Oh, Ren!" He jumped up and jogged out into the hall. Anna sat down and gave Toshiro her usual scowl. Toshiro looked surprised. Rangiku felt her stomach fall.

"And just why do you keep staring at my husband?" she demanded. Everyone but the shamans exclaimed "WHAT!?" and Anna snapped at them. "Did you not hear me? Why do you keep glaring at Yoh? I won't be letting you stay here if it continues, and I might just charge you for the operation. I only faked it the other day to get Orihime to show us her healing abilities. If you really want to pay that thirty thousand yen fee, I'd be very willing to take it."

"Anna-san!" Orihime gasped. "Are you really _married_ to Yoh-kun!?"

"No, I'm not," she replied. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, which only helped in spiking her temper. "_But_, we're engaged. It's a family thing," she added to confused looks.

"So you just _call_ him your husband?" Rukia asked. Anna nodded in her direction.

"Technically, he is her husband," Manta added, walking in. "Hi everyone. Whoa. New people…" Rukia beamed.

"Ah! He's so cute! He looks just like a teddy bear!" she gushed.

"What? I'm not a teddy bear! Hey, listen…stop hugging me!!"

Out in the hallway, having nothing to do with the conversation at hand, Yoh was listening to the story that his friend was telling him with the biggest aggravation level that would probably make Hao cower in fear. But he knew that Hao was too level-headed for that. The mood Yoh was previously in had already disappeared, and he was leaning sideways against the wall beside the phone, his face covered by dark shadows created from bad hallway lighting, and an emotionless line where a huge grin would have been just moments ago. He opened his mouth for a comment, but thought of nothing, and pulled his lips back together. Ren noticed the sudden silence.

"Yoh, are you still there?" Ren asked unsurely.

"Yeah, I'm here. I heard you fine," Yoh responded.

"Then tell me what you think of this! Do you agree with me or not?"

"Well, considering you stopped, I'm not sure what to agree with…" Yoh took a glance over his shoulder to make sure the others weren't listening in. He could see Anna peeking just slightly outside, as if to check up on him, before she receded inside the main room and shut the noise out from the hallway.

"That these people are _freaks_."

"Well, Ren, not to disagree with you, but we're not exactly what you would call 'normal,' either," Yoh said. Ren went on a tangent about how Yoh never really seemed to listen or take things seriously. Yoh interrupted his friend. "Ren. Ren! Hey, Re—oh, you're listening. Hey, do you think you could do one of those 'extended research' things again, like the one in the first tournament when we were trying to find the Patch Village?"

There was a slight pause on the other end.

"Sure I could. Why?" Ren asked.

"Well, there's something I want you to look up…"

"Name it."

"Something called a 'hollow.' Look up 'hollow' for me, will you?"

***

"Agh! Yoh! Help me!" Manta begged. Yoh was quite surprised, and amused, to find Manta held tightly in a smiling Rukia's lap. He didn't look uncomfortable, but he did look a tiny bit awkward, and Yoh just laughed. He bent over and held his stomach, which began to ache as Manta screamed at him. Rukia covered her ears, giving Manta the chance he needed to escape. Unfortunately, he wasn't paying attention, so when Rukia's arm sfound themselves around him again, he was angry with himself for not taking the chance. Faust was telling Rukia that he used to hold Manta on his lap like that as well when they first met, but unfortunately, Manta was too scared to even utter a word. Rukia petted Manta's head, and he squirmed until he could get out. Rukia a little hurt, but that disappeared when Ichigo rubbed her head affectionately…or, so it seemed.

"So, when is it you all leave for the tournament?" Tamao asked, her eyes averting to everyone and Chad. She wouldn't admit it, but she secretly had a tiny little crush on Chad. Maybe she didn't know she liked Chad. But either way, she kept looking towards him. The fun died instantly, and everyone exchanged looks.

"Two more days," Lyserg answered when no one said anything. "In two days, we have to get ready for the Shaman Tournament."

"Oh…" Tamao looked slightly guilty that she had killed everybody's fun, and she shrunk down. Chad noticed the size difference and smiled at her. She smiled back sheepishly and blushed.

"When is Ren coming back?" Horokeu asked Yoh. Yoh rolled his eyes back and shrugged. "Where did he call from?"

"I dunno. It was from an unfamiliar number."

"Idiot doesn't know how to use a phone."

"I'm sure he does. He's probably out someplace." Yoh looked down at his hands somberly, thinking of the story Ren just told him only moments ago. _A man named Gin Ichimaru…Supposedly strong beings…Aizen-sama…? What's going on, and why is the Great Spirit letting this happen?_


	19. Their Last Day

**A/N: The last filler chapter for now. The next one starts them going into the USA and beginning the tournament. And more Soul Reapers show up. Also…**

**Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays, whichever one you prefer! Hope you all get what you want and everything in between! :D **

Ren typed up a storm on the laptop as he propped his feet up on his family's private jet. The servant was looking at him in either confusion or shock. Ren's eyes scanned the page before him before he got to the secret password. Since the first tournament, it had been changed. He typed up the password—long one that it was—and was surprised at the results. Just like the last tournament, there were none. Ren rubbed his chin and then massaged his head. This stupid thing was giving him a headache.

"Young Master, is everything all right?" one of the servants asked, but Ren just closed the computer and waved him away.

"I'll have to tell Yoh that there were no matches for the type of hollow he might have been interested in." Ren paused. "Why did he want me to look up a word like 'hollow?'"

"Young Master, we'll be arriving in Tokyo shortly," Bason announced, and SOT was curled up beneath Ren's feet. When Ren placed them on the floor, he stepped on the poor spirit, earning himself a shock. It was just like static, but he waved it off. It was his fault after all. Just after Bason's announcement, the pilot repeated the same thing, and Ren watched out the window as the Tokyo Airport was coming closer. The sun was just barely rising from the horizon. The sky was a mix of red and pink and blue and a tad bit of orange. The plane landed slightly harder than Ren was expecting, making SOT jump, but he was just neutral about the ordeal. His mind was entirely some place else.

"We've landed, You—"

"Yes, yes, I know." Ren unbuckled and stood up. "I can take care of myself from here."

"But Young Master…!"

Ren turned on the man, making his halt. "Excuse me, but I'm a big boy. I can take care of myself just fine. I don't care what my parents or my sister has told you, and you don't need to either. You just need to listen to me: if you try to follow me or boss me around, I'll kill you." Ren gave him a second longer to let his warning sink in before he turned and exited the plane with his two spirits in tow. The Airport was as packed as ever. People were everywhere and somewhere in the airport a baby was crying. Or was it a little boy…? Well, whatever it was, it wasn't important. All he was fixated on was getting out of the damned place. He danced through a crowd and came around near a food court.

Damn! He took a wrong turn.

"Heya, Ren old boy!" a voice cried, and two arms wrapped tightly around his neck. Instinctively, Ren grabbed one of the arms and threw the person straight over his shoulder. He didn't realize who it was until that person had slammed against the floor.

"Oops. Sorry Horo," he said as the Ainu blinked away stars.

"Violent as ever, eh?" Yoh asked with a grin before he slung an arm around Ren's shoulder. "Well, I suppose he really shouldn't have come up behind you…"

"You couldn't have stopped him?" Lyserg pointed out, coming up with his hands in his pockets. Ren could see he was shaking.

"By the way…" Yoh's eyes narrowed and his voice lowered. "You looked it up, correct?"

"Yes, I did," Ren whispered back. "Nothing came up."

"Damn."

"What're you two whispering about?" Manta asked, popping up between their legs. Ren and Yoh pulled away. "What? Come on, let me in!"

"No." Ren shook his head with a satisfied smirk. Then it disappeared. "Wait, why are you here? I never asked you to pick me up."

"Oh yeah, we know," Horokeu said, pulling himself up off the ground and cracking his neck. "But we just kind of figured you'd get lost in this airport. The, uh, the exit's _that way_, Ren."

"Oh shut up, Horo." Ren crossed his arms and blushed. He'd admit that he didn't do well in packed airports. He just didn't like it when other people pointed it out, specifically Horokeu.

"Well come on, Ren! We've gotta get you back to the inn before Anna thinks we're just trying to shirk our chores!" Yoh shouted. Ren sighed. They were just trying to get out of work. Why didn't he see that coming? "Oh yeah, we've also got some new people with us!"

"Who?"

"Just some girl named Rukia." Yoh stopped. "Hey, why don't we just hang out all day?" He looked back at his friends with a content look. The others raised their brows. "You know, just hang out and have fun. We can do chores later."

"Should we go pick Ryu and Chocolove up from the inn?" Lyserg asked. "I'm sure they'd want to have fun with us as well." Yoh just laughed. He nodded and grinned. That was his thing. You could never tell what he was laughing at, considering he was always laughing, but even so it comforted the others to know that no matter who, or what, was entering the tournament that they were supposed to be no part of, that nothing would change in their group of friends. Everything would remain close to the same and no one would leave or get replaced. Manta especially was relieved.

"I can't believe you guys have to leave tomorrow," he said sadly as Yoh treated everyone to ice cream. "This is the second time. What if it's the last time I get to see any of you? I'd be pretty sad if any of you guys died, even Ren."

"Nice to know I'm so loved."

"Don't worry, Manta," Yoh reassured, licking at the vanilla cream, "no one's going to die. Even if Hao _is_ in this tournament again—no matter if he survived or not—we're going to come back safe and sound. I'm sure of it."

"Well…okay…" Ren eyed their shortest member before looking at the others. They all seemed confident that nothing was going to happen. He sighed.

"Yoh's right. Nothing bad's going to happen to any of us. We'll just have to defeat Hao again." Ren looked down at Manta's face. The shorty was looking up at him with a shocked look. "What, you think I'm not going to agree?"

"Not that." Manta laughed. "You have ice cream on your face."

"Screw you!!"

"Ahahaha!! He's right Ren!"

"Shut up!"

"Who knew he was such a pig?"

"_Chuuka Zanmai_!!"

***

Anna looked out the window as the sun was setting. Aloud, she was saying, "What's taking them so long? Did spiky really get lost in the airport?" Inside she was saying, "It's their last day, so I'll let them have fun. They thought that they could sneak in unseen to pick up Chocolove and Ryu. Horokeu was too damn loud."

"Miss Anna, where are they?" Tamao asked. Anna shot her a cold look.

"Where do you think? They're shirking their chores, and it's rude to make the guests clean the inn."

"But…that's what you're making them do…"

"See? It's rude. They shouldn't make me do this." Anna turned back towards the setting sun and smiled slightly. "Tamao, you can tell them to stop if you want. Let them have a break. It _is_ their last day to relax." She sighed. Tamao could see the barely reflected expression Anna had in the window's surface and went to get their guests. Anna leaned back in her chair.

"If Hao really _did_ survive the last tournament, I don't think the Senji Ryakketsu will be enough this time. He might be too powerful," she told herself. "And not to mention that these strange people are now joining the tournament; the Great Spirit might have something to do with this, and it might be a good idea, but I'm not too sure if I agree."

***

Yoh, Manta, Lyserg, Ren, Ryu, Chocolove, and Horokeu were all packed together tightly in a diner, listening to those who were good enough (or bad) and brave enough to sing karaoke. Yoh and Horokeu tried to get Ren to sing, but he simply beat them both with his shoe and ignored their pleading. Unfortunately, a certain someone thought that they were good enough and tried to sing. Ryu was officially keelhauled off of the stage and replaced by a skank. Ren and Manta had a ball poking at that. In the middle of a conversation, you'd hear, "So, how did the skank do, Ryu?" and everyone would die laughing.

"We might not be able to do this often during the tournament, huh?" Chocolove pointed out, and the mood in the group slowly dissipated. Ren's eyes narrowed.

"No, we won't," he agreed. "With those people around, we'll have to keep up our guard."

Yoh rubbed his throat, remembering when Ichigo had turned into that…that…_thing_ and wrapped his fingers nice and cozy around the chunk of flesh, squeezing until the orange-head had gotten control of himself. Lyserg saw his friend's action and placed his hand on Yoh's shoulder, giving it a comforting grip. The others saw Yoh feeling at his neck and looked away. Whatever Yoh and Lyserg were thinking of might bee something they didn't want to pry into, but they said something anyways. Yoh said, "When I fought Ichigo—he was my first preliminary fight—I had the upper hand in it. As soon as he realized it, he…he just went insane."

"His eyes turned black and orange," Lyserg added. He held his hand up in front of his face. "He had this weird mask covering about this much of his face and he actually tried to strangle Yoh." The others tried to think of the scene: Ichigo with a mask (there were no specifics on the design, so every shaman was allowed to think of their own), black and orange eyes, and trying to strangle Yoh. There were chills running down everyone's backs.

"Did he really?" Ryu asked.

"Yes," Lyserg and Yoh answered at the same time. Ren averted his gaze from his friends as the others exchanged confused looks.

"We're going to have to find out what exactly is going on." Chocolove bit the inside of his lip.

"I agree." Ryu nodded. Manta looked up at Ren.

"Ren, you've been silent for a while."

"Hm? What?" Ren blinked, like he'd spaced out, and looked at the others. "What? Why are you laughing!?"

"You spaced out! I didn't know you could do that! Your attention span's just as bad as—Hey! Look over here, Ren! Ren! At least pay attention to me when I'm insulting you! Re~en!" Horokeu shook his friend's shoulders. Ren blinked, then punched Horokeu's arm.

"Leave me alone, will you!?" he demanded. "Stop shaking me!"

"At least pay attention when I'm talking to you! Focus!"

"I am focusing! Just not on you!" Ren added, "Thank God."

As Horokeu proceeded to chew him out, he watched the person who had sparked something to stir in his furyoku. It was a man around his twenties with dark hair pulled back behind his ears. He was staring back at Ren and the others. Ren turned and grabbed Horokeu in such a tight headlock that the others thought his neck would break.


	20. Burning Wounds Never Heal

**A/N: Yay! The story is finally **_**going**_** somewhere!! :D *is shot* Oh, and the shoe in the last chapter is a small inside joke. Just laugh and go with it. **

The next day was a sad one for the shamans, especially Yoh and Anna. Ryu had made sure that everyone's rooms were nice and tidy (he had to make Horokeu's bed) and that their things were packed up (Ren had to run upstairs to make sure he wasn't leaving behind his kwan-dao or Bao Lèi sword), and Manta was waiting his turn downstairs to say goodbye to Yoh. He was talking and saying farewells to the others. Everyone would sometimes glance up at the stairs to see if they were coming down, but they knew that they would have to be patient. Ren crossed his arms and started complaining about being late to the airport to meet up for the second tournament. The others told him to just leave if he was so worried. Everyone was surprised when he just got up and left, thinking he would stay because he wanted to walk with them. Upstairs, Yoh was making sure that he had everything packed and ready for the tournament: _Harusame_, snacks, anything else he might need for the tournament. He had _that_ packed tightly and securely in his jacket pocket. Anna was watching him as he worked, clenching her fists and squirming. She took a deep breath. But her heart fell completely when Yoh said with triumph, "Well, everything's ready. Time for me to get going." He stood up with _Harusame _in the baldric around his back and turned around to see Anna shaking. "Anna?"

"You're leaving again," she stated. Yoh blinked and nodded. "Will I see you again?"

"Of course, Anna!" he answered, walking up and smiling down at her. "You can come to the Patch Village with us if you want! Just don't beat me around like a sock, okay?" He laughed at his own joke. Anna nodded briskly. Yoh watched her for a moment.

"Can I…put my arms around you?" he asked cautiously. There was a pause in their conversation, and then Anna nodded. Yoh smiled and threw his arms around her neck. He wasn't surprised when Anna's arms remained by her side. "You'll see me again. If Hao really has returned for the tournament, we'll just have to try our best to beat him again. Am I right?" He pulled back to look at her face. But as soon as his arms unwound from her shoulders, she turned and bolted out the door. Yoh watched her leave and sighed. She just needed time to herself.

"Hey! Yoh! Come on already!" Horokeu yelled up the stairs. "Ren already left!"

"What!?" he cried, appearing at the top of the stairs. "I thought he was going to wait for us!"

"So did we! Then he left." Horokeu looked back towards the main room as Chocolove told him something that Yoh didn't quite catch. "Oh, and Toshiro and Rangiku and the others left as well. They apparently didn't want to stay."

"It's okay," Yoh said, waving. "Let's get going."

"It about time you said that." Horokeu went to fetch the others. They were all bouncing around and excited. Horokeu bellowed out cheers and Chocolove actually said some things that were funny! Lyserg did a few back handsprings, and Faust simply held the hand of his beloved wife, whose Over Soul form was standing with them. Her scythe wasn't in her hand. They caused such a riot waking down the street that people tried to give them money, thinking they were street performers.

"WOOHOO!!" Horokeu screeched, and the others cheered with him. When the group finally arrived at the airport, they weren't too surprised at the large crowd of shamans. Yoh suggested they look around for Ren to see if they could hang out together before they leave. Horokeu spotted him out of the corner of his eye, talking to Jeanne—who, to his surprise, was actually _out_ of her torture chamber and away from the X-Laws—and he looked pretty happy. Horokeu pointed in a direction away from the two and they headed that way. "Look, who knows if he's even here or not?"

"Oh he's here," Yoh said confidently with a wink. "He's just hiding in the crowd. We have to find him." Yoh's smile, though, immediately disappeared when Marco approached. The blond pushed his glasses up and eyed Lyserg dangerously before turning to speak with Yoh.

"Have you boys, by any chance, seen our lovely maiden?" he asked in a formal tone. "We went to check on her Iron Maiden this morning and she was not in it. We fear she might have been kidnapped." Horo sniggered.

"Is something funny!?"

"No, no," Horokeu said, biting the inside of his lip. "She's that way. I saw her a while ago." Horokeu pointed opposite the way he saw Ren and Jeanne. Marco eyed him dangerously, but Lyserg stepped in.

"You too, Horo?" he asked incredulously. "I thought I was just seeing things. Yeah, she's back there buying takoyaki."

"Thank you, Lyserg." Marco bowed towards him and turned, running in the direction Lyserg and Horokeu were both pointing. Once out of earshot, the group all laughed.

"He fell for it!" Chocolove cried.

"Tell me, Horo, was Jeanne really that way?" Ryu asked. The Ainu just smiled to himself and walked along with the others. About half an hour later, Ren joined the others, saying he was near the takoyaki stand getting a snack. Horokeu and Yoh exchanged looks. A snack? Sure, eye-candy was more like it.

"Well, it's about time for the Patch to announce how the hell we're going to get to the USA," Horokeu grumbled, and Ren slid his shoe off of his foot just enough for Horokeu to stop complaining. "Hey! Come on, don't throw the shoe again!"

"If it hurts, I'll throw it." Ren smirked at his friend's look then scowled again and turned to Yoh. "I hate to be a bother, but Horo has a point for once. We don't have _any_ idea as to how we are going to get to the USA."

"For once…?" Horokeu asked, turning to Lyserg. The Dowser just smiled at his friend, unable to say much in his defense.

"We'll just wait," Yoh decided. "I don't feel like asking around." He placed his feet onto the table and leaned back on two legs. The others all looked at each other, thinking the same thing. They all thought Yoh was too lazy to do anything. Ren just sighed and pretended that some dirt under his fingernails was the most interesting thing he'd ever seen. Ryu and Lyserg struck up an interesting conversation and Faust, Horokeu and Chocolove just listened. Yoh was listening to his Walkman and tapping his foot. The group seemed relaxed until that familiar pressure swept over all of them, and their bodies turned into absolute steel iron plates. Yoh pushed his headphones off in a violent fashion and looked over towards his right. Ryu, Lyserg, Horokeu, Faust, and Chocolove all jumped to their feet and prepared their weapons. Ren's eyes flashed open and he looked over at what he thought was an exact mirror opposite of his friend. There, standing in all his undead glory, was the Lord of Hell himself.

Hao Asakura.

He smiled sweetly at his brother and his friends and pulled his glove tightly against his own skin. He even seemed surprised at the shocked looks and moved closer until he was standing comfortably amongst them, as if he had been part of the group the entire time. That smile that made Ren just want to hit him hard across the face remained and Hao could hear the want in Ren's thoughts.

"How rude of you to think that, Ren," he said nonchalantly, making the boy jump, "when I'm simply here to say hi to you all. You didn't think I was dead this entire time, did you?" His eyes darkened while his smile didn't, and the shamans could see fire burning in his black eyes.

"How could he not think whatever he was thinking!?" Horokeu jeered. "You've killed over hundreds of thousands of people! You nearly killed Yoh last time!" Hao raised his hand to silence Horokeu, acting surprised when the Ainu recoiled and raised his arms in defense. The sadistic boy was in no wonder though he pretended to be so.

"Why defensive over yourself, Horo_keu_?" He emphasized just at the right part that hit the boy in the heart. He lunged for Hao, but Lyserg immediately hooked his arms around Horokeu's shoulders and held him back. The others could see murder in the boy's eyes. Hao just chuckled and turned back to the group, his grin back in place. "I just wanted to see how all of you have been? Oh, but from the scrapes and bruises covering your body and your temper, Ren, I'd say you just got into a scuffle with your father. _And lost_," he added, seeing Ren's eyes flash. The Chinese shaman took a step and Yoh held his hand up, bumping his knuckles against his friend's chest, stopping him from getting himself hurt.

"I see I'm right." Hao continued to smile like he had done nothing wrong. Yoh didn't glare at his brother. Rather, he glowered.

"Whatever you want to say, Hao, do it before I lose my temper and my hand 'accidentally' falls," he said. Ren looked at Yoh and the others saw a flash in his golden eyes.

"Okay, since you asked _so nicely_." Hao shifted his position. Just as they expected, his expression darkened and he looked just like the maniacal sadist they knew he really was. "I'm going to win this tournament, just I should have won the last. My name will go down in history as the strongest and most powerful Shaman King there ever was, and I don't intend on allowing you to stop me again. The last time was a fluke."

"Oh really?" Lyserg butted in, dropping Horokeu to his knees on the ground. "If Yoh beating you last time was a fluke, then the real deal is when he _kills you_!!" The others jumped as his voice raised and Spirit of Fire appeared behind him, ready to take action. Hao looked over and glared at the betraying body behind the young boy before his eyes moved down to Lyserg again. The boy was glaring furiously at the mirror image of Yoh.

"You believe so?" Hao said, stepping forward. Ren jerked and Yoh let his hand drop. As Hao's hand went straight for Lyserg's throat, a body moved itself in front of the attack and received it in Lyserg's place. The others stared, shocked, as Ren was lifted off of his feet and into the air by Hao. The fire shaman's fingers tightened around the chunk of flesh and Ren gasped, his hands working to pry the strong fingers from his neck. He could feel his windpipe already beginning to cave in and breathing was becoming more of a task than a simple reflex. He could literally feel the blood stop in his veins and his feet twitched. Faust activated his Over Soul and Eliza dove for Hao's arm, the blade of her scythe nearly missing it. Hao let go and dropped Ren, evading the blade in one swift motion. Ren grabbed at his neck, making sure it was still attached to his shoulders, and swallowed as much air as he could. His face was starting to turn back to its natural color. Faust was kneeling down beside him to make sure that there was no further damage. Lyserg looked down at Ren helplessly. Hao watched the SOF hesitate in going over to his side or staying with Lyserg. But a simple jerk of Hao's head and the spirit was by his side in seconds. Hao held his hand out as the large being formed itself into the large, fire-red sword he had used in the last tournament and he stared at it almost amiably.

"It's amazing, you know?" he muttered, suddenly appearing behind Lyserg. Shadows covered the entire upper half of his face, save for his right eye, which was glowing red with anticipation. "How a spirit will immediately leave the weaker party for the one who is most obviously more _deserving_ of it? Especially these Elemental Spirits." Lyserg turned around to punch Hao, only to have his fist stopped. The shaman grinned and a fire blasted from his hands. Lyserg cried out and recoiled, pulling his fist in to his chest. Faust left Ren to tend to Lyserg's wounds. Hao relieved his hand of his sword and stared at his work with a smile.

"I feel proud of myself."

"Hao!!" Yoh bellowed. He walked over to his brother, leaning into his face and staring angrily up at him. The older looked down with a smirk.

"What is it, dear otouto?" he purred.

"Leave. Now. You're not wanted here." Yoh stood his ground, even when the taller leaned down to inspect his face. Hao simply smiled and jumped back. Yoh took a few steps forward, proving that he wasn't scared. Hao looked away from him to Ren, who was now recovering from the strangulation.

"Ren, my offer from last year still stands open for you," he informed. He watched as Ren curled his lips, then spat onto the ground.

"Burn in hell," came the acidic reply. Hao simply smiled and shrugged.

"It's still open." The fire shaman disappeared in a flash of light and a lick of flames. The others were all staring at Ren and Lyserg and Yoh sighed with relief now that the pressure had left. Lyserg watched as Faust was working on healing the skin that had been charred. He looked down at Ren, who was still feeling at his throat, and still on his knees. Horokeu was bent in front of him, watching him intently.

"Hey…Ren…," he said, trying to apologize, when he heard him murmur something in Chinese that made Horokeu's brow come together. "What?"

"混蛋！白痴！你有多愚蠢！？你想死嗎？是嗎？人生重要的不是你了！？你不上去了這樣一個強大的敵人在你的水平，只說狗屎你不能用武力備份！你是幸運，我是那麼快，我是，或者將你的屁股炸高天堂！你以為我喜歡我的喉嚨粉碎！？你！？他媽的，我發誓！我應該只殺了你，下次你自己做一些事情的愚蠢和結束您的痛苦，你的立場的權利！而這狗屎其實我知道我在談論！因此，下次你決定要玩大英雄，並導致某種形式的小型軍隊投入戰鬥與他保持一致你的屁股!" (1) Ren shouted in rapid-fire Chinese, turning around and yelling it into Lyserg's face. "你以為我喜歡看我的朋友們受苦或死亡！？我見過太多的死亡，在我的生命希望看到任何人我所關心的死！所以，保持你的脖子的地方是安全的！" (2) Ren glared at Lyserg, who look absolutely dumbfounded. The others were shocked. Though they had to admit that the language sounded so beautiful, the way he said it made it sound vulgar. Ren sighed.

"You have no idea what I just said, do you?" he said in slow, calm Japanese. The others just stared. Lyserg shook his head slowly in case his reaction would somehow cause Ren's anger to spark again. Upon seeing him say no, he sighed. "Good."

The group all exchanged looks, except Faust (he was wrapping up Lyserg's hand like nothing had happened as Eliza was packing his utensils back into the small roll-up pouch he kept handy in his jacket's inside pocket). But the awkward air lifted when the Iron Maiden herself scurried over, tripping over her skirt, to the group. She smiled gracefully at them and curtseyed.

"You'll be happy to hear that I have some interesting information," she said in her soft voice. She watched their confused expressions. "I found out how all of the shamans will be getting to America from here. Would you like to know?" She closed her eyes and intertwined her fingers together.

"Yeah," Yoh answered without missing a beat. "I don't want to have to ask other people." He watched her ruby eyes scan the area.

"Hao…," she murmured before the gloomy expression turned into a smile again. "The Patch will be flying us there on a personal jet. They'll have us repeat the same mission, though, getting to the village by ourselves." She smiled triumphantly.

"A jet? Cool!" Ryu said and Horokeu laughed. Jeanne turned around, as if looking for someone.

"Marco's looking for me," she announced, turning around to run away. She stopped, then looked back and winked. "If he asks, I was _never_ here," she added in a flirty voice, and picked her dress up, running with Shamash closely behind her. The others blinked and Ren was thanking any god out there that no one saw him blushing.

**A/N: Translations, anyone?**

**(1): You idiot! Imbecile! How stupid are you!? Do you want to die? Is that it? Life isn't important to you anymore!? You don't go up to such a powerful enemy at your level and just talk shit you can't back up with force! You were luck that I was as quick as I was, or your ass would be fried to high heaven! Do you think I enjoy having my throat crushed!? Do you!? God damn, I swear! I ought to just kill you myself next time you do something as stupid and end your suffering right where you stand! And that's shit I actually know what I'm talking about! So next time you decide you want to play the big hero and lead some sort of miniature army into battle with him, keep your ass in line!**

**(2): Do you think I enjoy watching my friends suffer or die!? I've seen too much death in my life to want to see anyone I care about die! So keep your neck where it's safe!!**


	21. Onto the USA!

As the shamans boarded the jet, they all looked around for their enemies and for anyone they might recognize that could help them fight against Hao again. The X-Laws were spotted right away. Jeanne was sitting in her dress, tears blobbing in her eyes—proof that Marco had scolded her pretty well for running off—and when she saw Yoh and the others looking at her she wiped them away quickly and waved, a gentle smile on her face. Of course, not even four rows away, they spotted Hao, who repeated the same actions the Iron Maiden had. They turned away quickly (Lyserg giving the boy a glare) before Yoh spotted Ichigo helping Rukia into a seat. The orange head looked Yoh's way, smiled, and then looked surprised and scowled. Yoh blinked, thinking it was for him, and turned around. Just in front of him a man in white was sitting himself down with two other men, one with a fox-like smile and the other with skin the same chocolate-brown as Chocoloves. The first man had messy brown hair that fell in his face. He looked at Yoh through Coke-bottle glasses and smiled before placing himself in the seat. Yoh turned to Ichigo, who was growling profanities that made Rukia slap his arm. She pulled him roughly into the seat beside her and whispered something into his ear as the dark-haired man Ren had spotted two days ago sat behind Ichigo and eyed the orange-haired strawberry dangerously, even though he couldn't see it. The shamans all exchanged looks and simply turned in their seats. There certainly was a strange line-up of people that had entered the tournament this year. Jeanne hopped out of her seat and walked over to Yoh, bending down to his ear level.

"Be careful of him," she whispered almost inaudibly. "He's very strong. You don't want to have to tangle with him in the future." Yoh turned to reply, but the dainty woman was already making her way back to her seat. Ryu murmured something about her not lying in her torture chamber for the plane ride so that she wouldn't be considered as luggage and turned back in his seat. Lyserg was still twiddling his thumbs as Ren stared out the window. The jet's engines started and it wasn't long before the plane was in the air and the shamans and Soul Reapers were talking and mingling like it was nothing. Yoh was tapping his foot to a rhythm he only heard until someone shook his shoulder. He opened his eyes and grinned, pausing the music.

"Hey Ichigo," he greeted, seeing the man in front of him turn in interest before looking back to his lap. Ichigo scowled at the man and turned back to Yoh.

"Hey, do you know how this whole thing is going to work, Yoh?" he asked. Ichigo gestured back to Rukia and the man. "Rukia keeps asking me questions." Yoh shrugged.

"Well, aside from the jet—they didn't do this last year—we just land in the USA and have to find our way to the Patch Village from wherever we land. We have three months and whoever doesn't make it to the village in time is out of the tournament." Yoh slipped his headphones off and leaned closer to Ichigo. "Say, what's with you and this guy?" He pointed to the man in front of him. The man who resembled Chocolove turned around, tensing, but the man with brown hair—the one Ichigo had been glaring at—simply told him to turn around. Ichigo bared his teeth and straightened up, strutting back over to Rukia and explaining their situation. Yoh looked back to smile and saw that something in her bag was moving around. Ichigo glared at her sheepish smile and hit the bag with his fist. Yoh could have sworn he heard a grunting sound and then returned to his music. Ichigo gave her a look.

"Of all things to bring, you just _had_ to bring _Kon_!?" he hissed. Rukia nodded.

"Of course!" she hissed back. "What if we happen to run into a Hollow? Hunh? Who would keep your body occupied to make the shamans think nothing was wrong?"

"He'll make everything _worse_…"

"Give me some credit, Ichigo!" came a reply and Ichigo punched the bag again. Byakuya eyed him dangerously as he did so, narrowing his eyes. "Ow! Treat a person better than that!"

"You're not a person; you're a stupid soul in a stupid stuffed animal!" Ichigo yelled. Horokeu turned around to shut him up, saw Byakuya, and turned around in his seat. He shivered. That man could kill with looks. "Really, Rukia, have you seen any Hollows lately? There haven't been any while we were staying with Yoh and the others."

"So?" she shot back. "What if they were to appear while we're America? Then what would happen? We'd probably have to reveal the existence of Soul Reapers to the shamans and I don't have my magic-poofy-thing that makes up memories to replace ones I want gone!"

"The Memory Chikan?" Ichigo corrected. Rukia snapped her fingers.

"Yeah! That!" She grinned. "Don't worry, Ichigo, everything will be fine, but I just wanted to make sure that we were prepared for the worst." Rukia brushed her hair out of her eyes, giving the sight outside her window a fond look. All she could really see was the ocean the plane was crossing on its way to the USA. She wriggled in her seat, bending low and yawning with fake fatigue.

"I'm taking a nap," she stated, pulling her knees up to her chest and leaning so that her head was placed comfortably against Ichigo's bicep. "If you move, I'll kill you."

"W-what? Rukia!" Ichigo didn't have a chance to retaliate as the dark-haired shinigami had already closed her eyes and moved around until she was comfortable leaning against his arm and hugged the bag with Kon inside it. "Pushy little…" Ichigo let his words trail off from fear that the older Kuchiki behind them would like to make him mincemeat before he had the time to finish it anyway. So, he just shifted carefully so that her bony skull wasn't putting his arm to sleep and looked the other way, trying not to look down at her. He could hear Kon complaining to get out of the bag and he flicked the side with his opposite hand, making the stuffed animal cry out with pain and shut up. (But only after five more flicks to the nose and one to the eye.)

"Ichigo," a sharp voice said, making the substitute jump. He turned to see Soi Fon (wearing her usual uniform without the captain's cloak) staring down at him with a sharp glare. Her hands rested on either of her hips and Suzumebachi was clearly visible on her hands. He smiled nervously and jumped when she leaned down to look him in the eyes securely. Great, now he had glares from both sides. "Tell me, after the tournament, are you planning on becoming the Soutaicho?"

Other Soul Reapers looked their direction. Toshiro and Rangiku were visibly seen, the young captain cradling his recently healed scar, and Kenpachi and Yachiru weren't really sore thumbs with all of the strange-looking shamans around, but they were still sticking out. Ichigo was pretty sure it was his hair that stood out. He smirked back at Soi Fon, though the attempt was a failure.

"What if I am?" he challenged? Soi Fon narrowed her eyes and pointed Suzumebachi into his neck, pushing in the skin to the point where any given turbulence or turn of the jet would cause the needle to pierce his skin. He tensed. The captain's mouth formed the words very clearly.

"If you do, the other captains will be ready to kill you," she said slowly, making sure her words were carefully chosen and made the right effect. "We would prefer our Soutaicho not be some human who happened to gain powers from a Soul Reaper who should have been doing her job right. We need the Soutaicho to be there for us at any given notice, and you can't because of school and your family, correct? I believe it's your best interest to _stay out_ of the Soul Society's business."

"And to think," Ichigo started with a grin, "you were letting me spend the night in your district's quarters." His voice went low. "Don't worry, I'm not interested in that old man's job. I'm just in it for the fun. Chad and Orihime and Uryu aren't in it for the position either. So just sit back and relax. And get your weapon out of my throat. People are starting to stare."

Soi Fon's expression seemed to relax and she sighed with relief, pulling her weapon back and pulling her cloak over her arm, hiding her right weapon. Ichigo could see the other Soul Reapers (he spotted Ikkaku and Renji) relax and turn back to what they were doing. So that was what they were up to? Uryu gave him a "You about got your ass killed, stupid!" look and turned in his seat, pulling out a book and reading. The captain bowed towards Ichigo and turned on her heel swiftly, making her way back to a row of seats with her Omaeda, who was stuffing his face with salted chips. Ichigo turned back to Rukia. The girl was still fast asleep, curled up into a fetal ball. He laughed to himself and turned back to the front. He could see Aizen whispering to Kaname, and he jabbed his thumbs over towards the aisle beside him. Ichigo looked around until he saw Yoh glaring at Aizen. Ichigo blinked, rubbed his eyes, and looked again. In the few hours they had been separated, Yoh's hair had magically grown to his waist and he had changed from his usual white, unbuttoned T-shirt to a tan poncho. He even had his ears pierced?

Oh no, it wasn't Yoh. Definitely not. The boy had turned to Ichigo with the same glare he had been giving Aizen and then it softened and turned into a sneer. The boy turned towards a small, African girl beside him and whispered something to her. The girl looked ahead, not sparing the boy a look, and nodded, giggling. Ichigo watched as the boy stood up, shimmied out of the aisle and started walking by him. He pretended to just notice Ichigo staring at him and smiled sweetly, waving. Ichigo hesitated, then waved back. The boy laughed and walked on by towards the bathroom. His heart suddenly stopped. He let out the heaviest breath and sighed. Good, he was still alive. He made sure by standing up, making Rukia fall over and bump her shoulder against the arm of the seat. She sat up, rubbing her eyes, and then frowned up at Ichigo.

"Ow," she said, rubbing her head. Ichigo huffed and sat down again. He just took a calm breath and let it out shakily. Rukia noticed his breath and straightened up. "Is something wrong, Ichigo?"

"Hun? Ah, no," he said, smiling and waving it off. "I'm fine. Totally fine."

**A/N: Okay, well, I won't be updating as often as I used to because of some restrictions and whatnot. So, chapters won't be coming out every other day like during Christmas. I think I even updated on Christmas. XD **


	22. Kids Are Annoying

**Sorry for the sudden disappearance! I had a serious case of writers block. So, if you can forgive me, enjoy!**

Yuzu stirred the batter in the yellow bowl slowly, almost warily, as her mind was floating about in the air of the room. How long had he been gone without giving her or Karin or their idiotic dad a phone call? She growled and quickened her mixing. A simple "I've arrived in Tokyo!" would suffice. She distinctly remembered telling him to call when he had found a place to stay. She wondered what he had done with the bento boxes. Had he eaten the lunches she had prepared for everyone? The questions just fueled her curiosity, and more questions stemmed from that; she even began to question the miniscule things, like if he remembered to brush his teeth or if he took a shower every morning. Karin looked away from her television show to look as her sister began slinging batter around the kitchen in a blind fury. She jumped up and ran over, yanking the bowl away from Yuzu. She stared at Karin for a few moments, dumbfounded, before she saw the mess she had created.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Karin!" she said fretfully. "My mind was somewhere else. I can't stop thinking about Ichigo!"

"Why? Because he forgot to call?" Karin asked. Yuzu nodded. "No need to worry about big brother. I heard from Toshiro he's okay. In fact, I think he said something about another country…"

"Oh! Your boyfriend says he's okay?"

"He's _not _my boyfriend, Yuzu!" Karin's face turned into a red cherry and Yuzu's problems were gone, but only for a second. "Yuzu, I understand that you're worried about him, and maybe a little angry at him for not calling or texting or anything, but you just have to trust Ichi-nii. Sure, he may have a bad habit of not telling us where or when he gets to where he's going, but you just have to trust him. Besides, if you ask me, I'm sure he's in a fancy Tokyo hotel right now with Orihime and Rukia and having the time of his life. You worry too much," she added as she went back to her show. Yuzu pouted, then looked down at the sticky mess on the floor, and threw her apron at Karin.

"You have to help me clean this up, since you snatched the bowl from me!" she shouted, a smile breaking onto her face from her sister's encouraging words. "And because of you, we might have to call for take-out tonight!"

"What? Come on, there's still more ingredients for takoyaki, right?" Karin grabbed a washcloth from one of the drawers and turned the hot water knob of the sink, pressing her fingertips to the faucet neck to feel for the water heating up. "You know how bad take-out is in Kurakara! I bet the stuff they have in Tokyo is _much_ better than this crap!!"

"Yeah!" Yuzu giggled and rinsed her cloth, bending down and removing her socks. "Aw, gross! It's all squishy in my socks!"

"Ha ha!" Karin grinned and then yelped, having burned her hand on the hot water. After the two laughed at each other's misfortune, they began scrubbing the floor to work out the batter that had caked itself onto the linoleum floors. Isshin was probably up in his room – doing God knows what – and with the two twins working silently on the mess on the floor, the house seemed quiet, almost empty. There was no Ichigo screaming and yelling and having spaz attacks with his friends. Rukia's laughter was gone, and now that it was just the three of us, it felt like the twins had lost another family member. Karin felt compelled to excuse herself from dinner and cry in her room, where Yuzu wouldn't see her being weak.

"…I can't help but worry," Yuzu said finally, making Karin snap out of her depression. "I know you're tired of hearing me say it, but I'm just so worried about him!" Tears blobbed in the outer corners of her eyes and Karin sighed sympathetically.

"I know, I know," she said, moving so that she sat beside her sister and pulled her into a hug from the side. "But we have to be patient and wait at home."

"Mm." Yuzu pouted again and Karin laughed, working on the drying mix until Yuzu finally stopped and helped out. Once the two were finished, it was almost six, and dinner wasn't ready yet. Yuzu pulled out a new bowl and began to make a new mix, hiccupping. Karin hesitated, giving her sister a sympathetic look, and then came to Yuzu's side.

"Here, I'll help. That way, dinner will be on the table in a shorter amount of time," she offered, smiling at her sister. Yuzu beamed at her sister's offer and nodded in agreement as she asked her sister to chop up lettuce and other vegetables to go into their food. "And besides, this could be a good opportunity for me to get around the kitchen a little more. I need to better my cooking skills anyways, you know?"

Yuzu giggled, but the conversation stopped when a harsh knock at the door echoed through the house. A crash from upstairs signaled that Isshin wasn't expecting company. Karin and Yuzu dropped what they were doing – not in a literal sense, of course, otherwise they would have to clean things up later – and rushed to the door, as was usual procedure in case someone was bleeding or hurt severely. Karin was first to the door. Her hands wasn't even touching the cold metal of the gold-colored knob before the door cracked into two pieces and she was flung back from the force, slamming against the wall opposite from the door. She cried out on impact, hearing the sickening crack as her spine throbbed, and Yuzu shrieked, only for a moment, before rushing to her sister's side and bending down. Karin's face was twisted into an expression of pain, one eye closed, as if the pain was too much for her to open both of her eyes. Both girls gasped as a thick-soled boot landed dangerously close to Yuzu's hand and dark, cold blue eyes stared down at them. The owner took a long inhale on their cigarette and blew the smoke out. Karin gripped her sister's arm, glowering at the woman before them. She scoffed.

"This is why I really hate kids," she said. "So pathetic."

"Let's get them and get outta here!" an orange-haired girl said, jutting her hip to the side. "I'm getting bored just looking at this town!"

"Fine. Come on, little pests." The older woman reached down, but Karin jumped up and kicked her square in the shin. She gasped and hopped up on one leg, the cigarette falling from her mouth and she swore loudly. Karin yanked Yuzu – who was frozen from fear – and dragged her towards the stairs, clomping loudly in hopes of catching their father's attention. Yuzu stumbled behind her, unable to process what was going on until Karin had pushed her into Ichigo's room and locked the door.

"We have to get out of here!" she exclaimed, rushing over to his bed. She jumped up onto the mattress and tugged at the window. She failed to move it anywhere until she realized that the lock was still in place.

"What about Dad!? We have to help him!" Yuzu cried, grabbing Karin's shoulders. "We can't leave him here! We have to go get him!!"

"He'll be fine!" Karin slapped her sister's hands away and undid the clasp clumsily, swinging the door open. She reached out and grabbed Yuzu's hand, squeezing it. "They seem to just be after us. We can get out and get help!"

"Karin!!" Yuzu pointed towards the window, her eyes wide and face blanched. Karin turned around, only to find a doll pointing the end of its gun straight into her nose. One of its eyes was falling out, and it pushed the gun into her nose more and more, as if trying to herd her back into the room.

"Shit…" Karin stepped away from the bed, huddling back with her sister. "Damn it! Now what!?"

"Karin, I'm scared…"

"It's okay; I won't let them get you!" Karin turned and Yuzu shrieked as the older woman limped in, a bruise the side of Karin's shoe was beginning to turn purple in the area that Karin had kicked her. She was growling as she approached them. The older woman grabbed Karin's shirt, ripping her from Yuzu's arms, and threw across the room. Karin's head hit the wall, and she struggled to stay conscious, but was soon out like a light. Yuzu was being held by the orange-haired girl, and the doll turned around, jumping back into the arms of its blonde owner. The older woman grabbed Karin and threw her over her shoulder.

"Let's get out of here, Matti," she said bitterly, still limping from the scuffle of downstairs. She walked over to the window, refusing to touch the bed, and leaned over it to look down out of the window. "Mari! Is the old man out?"

"Yes," came the barely-audible reply. "Let's go. I'm bored."

"Fine." The older woman jumped out of the window, landing on the ground harshly, with Matti and a very angry Yuzu following closely behind. She sneered. "Can you not shut her up?"

"Maybe. I can try?" Matti replied. "Besides, Kanna, you didn't have to go as far as knocking the girl out. Hey!" Matti reached out, grabbing her friend's arm as she stumbled. "You might want to be careful with that leg of yours! She got you pretty good."

"Shut up!" Kanna snapped. "Hao-sama's already angry with me for God knows why, so let's get going so he doesn't kill me. I don't want him to think I failed him again."


End file.
